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THE 

GREAT   CHANGE: 

TREATISE  ON  CONVERSION 

BT 

GEORGE   REDFORD,    D.D.,    LL.D. 

WITH 

:3ln  Introbttctlon, 

BY  THE  REV.  JOHN  ANGELL  JAMES,  D.D. 


REVISED   BY   THE   COMMITTEE   OF   PUBLICATION   OF  THE   AMERICAN 

SUNDAY-SCHOOl.   UNIOV. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 
AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNION, 

>o.  146  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


[The  following  treatise  was  prepared  for  the  press  of 
the  London  Religious  Tract  Society,  and  is  reprinted  by  the 
American  Sunday-school  Union,  from  proof-sheets  kindly 
forwarded  by  our  trans- Atlantic  friends. 

It  is  a  plain,  solemn,  scriptural  illustration  of  one  of 
the  most  important  truths  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  will 
be  found  eminently  calculated  to  dissipate  false  hopes,  to 
guard  the  inquirer  after  salvation  against  fatal  mistakes, 
and  to  guide  him  into  the  strait  and  narrow  way  that  leads 
to  life  everlasting.] 


Ehtered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1&43,  by  Her- 
man Cope,  Treasurer,  in  ti;ust  for  the  American  Sunday-school  Union, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOE 

IsTBODrcTiox  by  the  Rev.  J.  A.  James 5 

PART  I. 

ON    COXVEnSIOK. 

Preliminary  Address  to  the  Reader 15 

Chapt3er  I.  Conversion  explained 19 

II.  The  Importance  and  Necessity  of  Con- 
version enforced 26 

III.  The  State  of  the  Unconverted 33 

IV.  The  Means  which  God  has  appointed, 

and  ordinarily  employs,  in  the  Con- 
version of  Sinners 43 

V.  The  Possibility  of  your  Conversion 63 

VI.  Reasons  why  you  have  never  yet  been 

converted 78 

VII.  Reasons  why  your  Conversion   should 

take  place  now 97 

VIII.  The  Promise  of  Converting  Grace 105 

IX.  The  Marks  of  Conversion 114 

PART  II. 

PARTICULAR  CASES  COXSIDERED    OF    THOSE    THAT    NEED 
CONVERSION. 

I.  The  Unbeliever  and  Caviller 124 

II.  The  Undecided 143 

III.  The  Mistaken 149 

IV.  The  Self-sufficient 155 

V.  The  Worldling 160 

VI.  The  Delayer 164 

VII.  The  Careless 168 

VIII.  The  Hopeless 172 


INTRODUCTION. 


Reader,  whoever  you  are  whose  eye  shall  read  these 
pages,  you  have,  indeed,  just  cause  for  anxiety,  whether 
you  feel  it  or  not.  Did  you  ever,  in  serious  moments, 
and  in  a  serious  manner,  ask  such  questions  as  these : 
^*What  am  I?  Whence  came  I?  Who  sent  me  here  ?  What 
is  my  business  in  this  world?  What  is  to  become  of  me  when 
I  go  hence  ?"  If  not,  why  not?  To  say  nothing'  of  religion, 
does  not  reason  press  such  inquiries  on  your  attention  ? 
You  find  yourself  in  existence,  possessing  a  rational 
soul.  You  know  you  cannot  remain  here  long,  and  must 
soon  lie  down  in  the  grave  with  your  forefathers ;  but 
does  your  history  end  there  1  Is  there  no  world  beyond 
the  tomb  1  There  is  :  reason  suggests  it ;  revelation 
proves  it.  Yes  ;  you  are  not  only  mortal,  but  immortal. 
Immortality!  What  a  word!  What  a  thing!  Did  you 
ever  revolve  it?  A  deathless  creature,  an  everlasting 
existence !  Such  is  your  soul.  You  are  ever  walking 
on  the  precipice  of  eternity,  and  any  moment — the  next, 
for  aught  you  can  tell — you  may  fall  over  it.  Eternal 
duration  alone,  apart  from  the  consideration  whether  it 
is  to  be  spent  in  torment  or  in  bliss,  is  an  awful  idea. 
You  are  to  live  somewhere  forever.  Should  this  matter 
be  allowed  to  lie  forgotten  among  the  thousand  uncon- 
sidered subjects  ?  Should  it  be  treated  with  indifference, 
excite  no  reflection,  produce  no  anxiety  ?  How  can  you 
help  being  anxious?  Ought  you  not  to  be  anxious? 
Going  on,  step  by  step,  to  eternity,  should  you  not 
pause,  ponder,  and  say,  "Whither  am  I  tending?"  The 
rational  course  is,  either  to  disprove  your  immortality, 
or  seriously  to  reflect  upon  it :  either  to  persuade  your- 
self that,  though  you  live  as  a  man,  you  shall  die  as  a 
brute,  01  else  to  act  as  an  immortal  being :  either  to  pro- 
1*  5 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

fess  the  gloomy  negation  of  atheism,  or  else  prepare  for 
everlasting  existence.  The  careless  infidel  is  more  con- 
sistent than  the  unanxious  nominal  believer  in  revela- 
tion. For  a  man  to  express  his  belief  that  he  is  immortal, 
and  yet  to  care  nothing  about  immortality,  is  the  most 
monstrous  inconsistency.  Ought  you  not  to  be  anxious  ? 
But  this  is  not  all.  Consider  your  history  ,•  look  back 
upon  your  past  life ;  pry  into  your  heart ;  examine  your- 
self. Would  not  reason,  even  if  there  were  no  Bible, 
discover  to  you  much  in  your  conduct  that  you  must 
condemn.  Admitting  there  is  a  God — and  you  believe 
there  is — does  not  conscience  tell  you  of  many  duties 
omitted,  and  many  sins  committed  ?  This  is  discerned 
by  the  dim  taper  of  your  own  reason;  but  let  in  the 
broad  daylight,  the  bright  sunshine  of  divine  revela- 
tion, and  then  what  alarming  defects,  what  appalling 
transgressions  are  seen !  Think  of  a  God  so  holy  that 
the  heavens  are  unclean  before  him,  and  his  angels 
charged  with  folly ;  a  law  so  perfect  that  a  sinful  feel- 
ing violates  its  precept  and  incurs  its  penalty:  what, 
then,  must  be  your  sinfulness  in  the  sight  of  God  !  Try 
yourself,  not  by  your  own  self-love,  nor  by  man's  erring 
judgment,  nor  by  the  opinions  of  flattering  companions, 
but  by  the  infallible  standard  of  God's  holy  word ;  and 
from  such  an  ordeal  you  must  return  with  the  awful 
declaration  sounding  in  your  ears,  "Thou  art  weighed 
in  the  balances,  and  art  found  wanting."  It  is  not  hyper- 
bole, but  sober  truth,  to  say  that  your  sins  are  more  in 
number  than  the  hairs  of  your  head.  If  there  had  been 
but  one  sin  in  all  your  life,  there  would  have  been  just 
cause  for  solicitude.  That  one  sin  should  break  your 
peace,  disturb  your  sleep,  and  imbitter  your  enjoyments, 
by  the  solicitude  it  awakened,  till  there  was  reason  to 
hope  it  was  forgiven.  That  one  sin  would  bring  upon 
you  the  condemnation  of  God's  righteous  law,  and  would 
be  a  cause  of  more  just  anxiety  than  the  discovery  of  the 
most  fearful  diseases  in  your  body,  or  the  greatest  losses 
of  your  property.  "What,  then,  should  be  the  solicitude 
awakened  by  sins  innumerable,  committed  in  childhood, 
youth,  and  manhood,  against  God  and  man,  in  opposition 
to  reason  and  conscience,  in  despite  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

tures,  and  the  remonstrances  of  ministers  and  friends'? 
What!  going  on  to  eternity  with  all  this  load  of  sin 
upon  the  conscience,  and  yet  without  solicitude] 

Consider  your  mortality !  Your  breath  is  in  your 
nostrils.  Ynu  are  not  certain  of  another  moment.  The 
concerns  of  your  immortal  soul,  the  means  of  grace,  the 
opportunities  of  salvation,  the  interests  of  eternity,  ever 
hang  on  the  passing  instant,  are  all  suspended  upon  the 
brittle  thread  of  human  life,  and  are  dependent  upon  the 
frail  tenure  of  a  beating  pulse.  You  know  not  that  your 
term  of  existence  is  long  enough  to  enable  you  to  read 
through  this  book.  Now,  if  death,  which  is  ever  follow- 
ing after  you,  were  the  end  of  your  existence,  tiiere  would 
be  no  room  for  anxiety :  at  any  rate  none  for  the  anxiety 
which  prompts  to  preparation ;  whatever  reason  there 
would  be  for  dread  and  dismay.  But  death  is  not  the 
end,  it  is  but  the  gate  into  eternity.  "It  is  appointed 
unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judgment." 
Annihilation  would  be  fearful  enough  :  to  plunge  into 
the  gulf  of  oblivion,  to  cease  to  be  forever,  how  horri- 
ble !  But  how  much  more  horrible  eternal  consciousness, 
attended  with  eternal  torment !  Did  you  ever  weigh  the 
import  of  that  most  awful  of  all  words,  hell?  Death  is 
a  terrific  monosyllable :  from  the  cold  touch  of  this  last 
enemy  all  sentient  beings  recoil  with  horror.  But  death 
is  only  as  the  dark,  heavy,  iron-covered  door  of  the  pri- 
son, which  opens  to,  while  it  conceals,  the  sights  and 
sounds  of  the  dungeon.  0,  that  first  moment  after 
death!  What  disclosures,  what  scenes,  what  feelings 
come  with  that  moment!  And  that  moment  must  come, 
— may  come  soon.     Should  you  not  be  anxious  ? 

Your  want  of  anxiety^  if  you  are  really  wUhouf  il^  is  a 
proof  of  your  want  of  religion,  and  of  all  raeetness  for 
eternity.  A  religion  without  anxiety  is  no  religion  at 
all.  It  is  impossible  to  be  saved  without  being  anxious 
to  be  saved  :  solicitude  to  be  saved  is  the  first  step 
towards  salvation.  It  might  as  soon  be  conceived  that 
a  man  could  be  saved  in  his  sins,  as  in  his  carelessness 
and  indifference.  The  first  and  most  natural  inquiry  of 
every  one  who  is  really  in  earnest  about  his  soul,  is, 
"What  shall  I  do  to   be  saved?"     What  intense 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

solicitude  is  breathed  in  that  most  solemn  inquiry !  Can 
any  man  know  how  holy  God  is,  how  strict  the  law  is, 
how  evil  a  thing  sin  is,  how  great  a  blessing  salvation 
is,  how  glorious  heaven  is,  how  dreadful  hell  is,  and 
how  awful  eternity  is,  and  not,  if  his  mind  is  really  and 
seriously  directed  to  these  subjects,  be  anxious  1  It 
were  more  rational  to  imagine  a  man  could  have  his 
property,  his  liberty,  his  life  hanging  in  suspense,  and 
yet  feel  no  solicitude,  than  to  be  truly  religious,  and  yet 
have  no  anxiety  about  his  soul.  The  concern  of  some, 
who  have  been  awakened  to  serious  reflection,  has  been 
so  great,  that  it  has  for  a  while  disordered  their  intellect. 
This  is  excessive,  and  has  arisen  from  want  of  clear 
knowledge  of  what  can  relieve  their  solicitude.  But 
there  never  yet  was  one  who  was  truly  saved,  who  did 
not  bear  with  him  along  the  road  to  glory  the  burden, 
though  not  an  unrelieved  one,  of  a  deep  solicitude  about 
his  eternal  welfare. 

The  anxiety  of  others  on  your  behalf  ought  to  make  you 
anxious  for  yourself.  It  would  be  improper,  except  in 
the  same  figurative  sense  as  pity  and  other  emotions  are 
ascribed  to  God  in  the  Scripture,  to  ascribe  anxiety  to 
him ;  but  in  this  sense  we  may.  God  is  solicitous  about 
you ;  he  has  looked  upon  your  soul,  and  its  fallen  state, 
with  deep  and  infinite  concern ;  his  divine  compassion 
has  yearned  over  you ;  he  has  felt  such  anxiety  for  you, 
as  to  send  his  Son  to  die  upon  the  cross  for  you,  his 
Spirit  to  renew  and  sanctify  you,  his  Bible  to  instruct 
you,  and  his  ministers  to  warn  you.  Jesus  Christ  has 
been  so  anxious  for  you,  that  he  has  actually  died  for 
you  upon  the  cross,  and  commissioned  his  servants  to 
make  known  to  you  his  love.  The  Spirit  is  anxious  for 
you,  and  is  ever  striving  with  you  in  the  Bible,  and  your 
conscience.  Angels  are  anxious  for  you,  and  are  waiting 
to  become  ministering  spirits  to  your  salvation.  Devils 
are  anxious  to  prevent  your  eternal  happiness ;  which 
shows  the  greatness  of  your  danger,  and  the  just  ground 
you  have  for  alarm.  Ministers  are  anxious  for  you,  and 
labour  and  pray  and  preach  for  your  conversion.  Your 
parents,  if  pious,  are  anxious  for  you,  and  are  supplicat- 
ing, amidst  tears  and  waiting  and  watching,  for  your 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

salvation.  Friends  are  anxious  for  you,  and  are  writing 
and  talking  to  you  about  your  soul's  concerns.  The 
church  of  God  is  anxious  for  you,  and  is  interceding  for 
you  with  the  God  of  all  grace; — and  you,  you  only,  are 
without  anxiety.  Is  not  this  surf)rising  and  affecting, 
that  you  alone  should  be  indifferent  to  your  salvation ; 
that  you  should  remain  torpid  and  careless  at  the  centre 
of  this  universal  and  deep  solicitude. 

Your  very  want  nf  solicitude  should  he  a  cause  of  anxiety 
to  you.  You  must  be  convinced  that  there  is  ground  for 
it.  You  cannot  be  so  utterly  ignorant  of  the  nature,  im- 
portance, and  claims  of  religion,  as  not  to  know  that 
there  is  much  in  it  both  calculated  and  designed  to  pro- 
duce a  serious  thoughtfulness.  There  have  been  mo- 
ments, one  would  think,  when  the  subject  would  force 
itself  upon  your  attention,  as  one  pre-eminently  deserving 
the  consideration  of  a  rational  and  immortal  creature; 
when,  by  some  alarming  sermon,  or  by  some  impressive 
event,  or  by  some  faithful  warning,  it  would  speak  to 
you  as  a  messenger  from  heaven,  and  with  the  voice  cf 
God  ;  when  an  incipient  pensiveness  was  stealing  over 
the  soul,  and  filling  the  whole  field  of  vision  with  the 
realities  of  eternity.  But  your  earthly-mindedness  soon 
suppressed  all  this;  the  transient  thoughtfulness  sub- 
sided, and  the  current  of  your  volatility,  arrested  for  a 
short  season,  flowed  onward  in  its  course  with  its  usual 
impetuosity,  and  you  are  now  as  far  from  any  thing  seri- 
ous as  ever.  Astounding  spectacle !  A  rational  crea- 
ture, anxious  about  a  thousand  things,  yet  not  anxious 
about  the  soul !  Agitated,  perplexed,  inquisitive  about 
little  matters  of  a  mere  passing  interest,  w^hich  the  next 
day  will  be  forgotten ;  and  yet  neglecting  that  great 
subject,  which  swallows  them  all  up,  as  the  ocean  does 
the  drops  of  rain  that  fall  upon  it.  Your  health,  your 
property,  your  prospects,  your  friends,  any  thing,  every 
thing,  but  your  soul,  and  your  soul's  salvation,  seizes 
and  carries  you  away  I  So  that  you  see  you  can  be  seri- 
ous. You  cannot  plead  in  excuse  for  yourself  any  na- 
tural inability,  any  paralysis  of  the  powers  of  the  mind, 
any  utter  incompetency  for  being  occupied  w4th  such 
matters.     Nor  can  you  offer  in  defence  of  yourself  the 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

excuse,  that  anxiety  would  be  unavailing,  that  it  would 
be  only  a  useless  self-torture,  a  tantalizing  effort,  that 
would  be  forever  reaching  after  an  object,  which  as  regu- 
larly receded  from  you.  No.  You  can  think,  and  rea- 
son, and  desire,  and  hope,  in  reference  to  religion,  as  in 
reference  to  any  other  subject;  nor  is  there  any  subject 
in  which  enlightened,  well-directed,  persevering  solici- 
tude would  be  so  sure  of  gaining  its  end,  as  in  reference 
to  this.  None  shall  seek  in  vain  here,  who  seek  aright. 
God  has  pledged  his  promise,  his  oath,  for  the  salvation 
of  all  who  tmly  repent  and  believe.  Where,  in  tempo- 
ral matters,  there  is  only  hope,  in  spiritual  ones  there  is 
absolute  certainty. 

And  now,  to  bring  these  remarks  towards  a  conclu- 
sion, and  to  make  way  for  the  author,  whom  they  are 
intended  to  introduce,  I  would  speak  to  you  for  a  few 
moments  on  the  subject  of  his  valuable  and  most  im- 
pressive treatise — and  which  is  just  the  subject,  indeed, 
about  which  it  concerns  you  to  be  anxious — I  mean, 
your  conversion  to  God.  This  is  the  most  momentous 
change — the  greatest  which  man  can  undergo.  In  some 
respects,  it  is  greater  than  that  which  takes  place  when 
the  redeemed,  emancipated  spirit  drops  the  fetters  of  cor- 
ruption, and  soars  away  in  happy  freedom  from  earth  to 
heaven ;  for  heaven  is  but  the  perfection  and  perpetuation 
of  the  change  which  is  wrought  in  conversion.  How 
impressively  does  the  apostle  James  speak  of  this,  where 
he  says,  "  He  which  converteth  the  sinner  from  the  error 
of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a 
multitudeof  sins  !"*  ShzW^iNe  a  soul  from  death!  A  dead 
body  is  a  fearful  object,  but  how  much  more  so  a  dead  soul ! 
Dead,  not  as  to  rationality,  but  to  spirituality :  dead  to  God, 
to  holiness,  to  salvation.  Perhaps  you  never  reflected 
upon  this.  How  eloquently,  how  impressively  has  it  been 
touched  upon  by  a  great  writer !  "  What,  my  brethren,  if  it 
be  lawful  to  indulge  such  a  thought,  would  be  the  funeral 
obsequies  of  a  lost  soul  ]  Where  shall  we  find  the  tears  fit 
to  be  wept  at  such  a  spectacle'?  Or, could  we  realize  the 
calamity  in  all  its  extent,  what  tokens  of  commiseration 
and  concern  would  be  deemed  equal  to  the  occasion? 
*  James  v.  20. 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

Would  it  suffice  for  the  sun  to  veil  his  lipht,  and  the 
moon  her  brightness ;  to  cover  the  ocean  with  mournino-, 
and  the  heavens  with  sackcloth?  Or,  were  the  whole 
fabric  of  nature  to  become  animated  and  vocal,  would 
it  be  possible  for  her  to  utter  a  groan  too  deep,  or  a  cry 
too  piercing-,  to  express  the  magnitude  and  extent  of 
such  a  catastrophe?" 

This  is  not  too  strongly  put,  nor  is  the  solemnity  of  tlie 
figure  out  of  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the  awful 
truth  to  be  illustrated.  Now,  conversion  means  the 
resurrection  of  the  soul,  instead  of  its  continued  death. 
It  is  the  rising  into  a  new,  glorious,  and  immortal  life 
of  the  moral  principle,  compared  with  which,  even  the 
resurrection  of  the  body,  when  it  shall  forsake  the  dark- 
ness, decay,  and  imprisonment  of  the  sepulchre,  and,  in 
obedience  to  the  call  of  God,  put  on  incorruption  and 
immortality,  is  but  a  dim  manifestation  of  the  power  and 
glory  of  the  Redeemer.  This  is  the  blessed  change  set 
forth  in  the  present  volume ;  and  it  is  a  change  which 
must  occur  in  ymi,  or  the  obsequies  above  alluded  to,  and 
not  the  resurrection,  will  take  place  with  regard  to  your 
soul.  Oh  that  I  could  excite  a  hope  and  awaken  an 
expeljtation  in  your  mind  of  the  felicities  of  this  new, 
divine,  heavenly  and  eternal  existence.  Would  that  I 
could  send  on  your  attention  to  the  following  pages, 
with  the  kindling  ambition  to  be  a  partaker  of  this  sub- 
lime transformation ;  with  something  of  an  ariticipation 
that  you  are  about  to  hear  and  obey  the  voice  which 
saith,  "  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light."*  Yes,  the  day- 
spring  from  on  high  may  be  about  to  visit  the  ^ave  in 
which  your  soul  lies  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  A 
new  existence,  unknown  and  unth ought  of  till  now,  with 
all  its  energies  and  activities,  a  career  of  eternal  holiness 
and  happiness,  may  be  opening  before  you. 

What  an  impressive  view  of  the  consequences  of  con- 
version does  the  declaration  of  our  divine  Lord  present 
to  you,  when  he  says,  "There  is  joy  in  the  presence  of 
the  anrrels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth  l"t 


Eph.  V.  14.  tLuke  xv.  10. 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

Repentance  is  conversion.  Now,  the  conversion,  not 
merely  of  a  nation,  or  a  multitude,  but  of  a  single  indi- 
vidual, is  of  such  importance  as  to  be  known  in  heaven, 
and  is  a  source  of  such  joy  as  to  fill  the  mansions  of  the 
blessed  with  new  interest  and  fresh  rapture.  Your  con- 
version would  do  this.  Your  conversion  would  draw 
upon  you  the  congratulations  of  the  innumerable  company 
of  angels.  Think  of  this.  It  is  not  the  joy  of  ministers 
and  friends  upon  earth,  but  of  the  angels  in  heaven,  who, 
from  their  position,  capacity,  and  experience,  can  better 
appreciate  the  immensity  of  the  consequences  of  conver- 
sion ;  can  penetrate  t^r  deeper  than  saints  on  earth  can  do, 
into  the  heights,  and  depths,  and  breadths,  and  lengths  of 
that  eternity,  which  is  the  seal  and  crown  of  the  felicity 
promised  to  ever)^  real  penitent ;  and  can  more  accurately 
comprehend  "the  mysterious  and  undefinable  value  of  the 
soul,  its  intense  susceptibility  as  a  rational,  moral,  ac- 
countable substance,  incapable  alike  of  extinction  or 
unconsciousness  through  infinite  duration."  Surely, 
surely,  such  a  consideration  alone  is  sufficient  to  awaken 
and  sustain  the  most  intense  anxiety,  that  you  might  be 
the  subject  of  a  change  with  which  are  connected,  as  an 
inevitable  result,  the  joyful  sympathies  of  the  celestial 
liierarchy  over  a  felicity  at  once  immense  and  eternal. 

vSuch,  then,  is  the  design  of  this  valuable  work,  to  ex- 
plain the  nature,  and  enforce  the  necessity,  of  conversion 
to  God.  It  comes  with  a  message  from  God  to  you  ;  and 
it  is  a  messenger  of  mercy  and  not  of  wrath.  It  comes 
to  lead  you  to  the  fountain  of  life,  the  way  of  salvation, 
the  path  to  glory,  honour  and  immortality.  A  special 
providence  may  have  placed  it  in  your  hands.  Receive 
it  not  with  indifference,  treat  it  not  with  carelessness. 
A  seraph  from  the  throne  of  the  Eternal,  a  herald  from 
the  world  of  light,  could  not  ])resent  to  you  a  subject  in 
which  you  are  more  deeply  or  more  directly  interested. 

Read  these  pages  with  the  deepest  seriousness  of 
mind.  Choose  a  season  of  retirement.  Command  all 
vrorldly  subjects  away.  Collect  and  concentrate  your 
tlioughts  on  that  one  word — conversion.  Read  as  with 
paradise  opening  above  you,  the  bottomless  pit  yawning 
beneath   you,  eternity   spreading   out  before  you,  and 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

the  eye  of  God  fixed  upon  you.  Read  with  docility, 
attention,  and  earnestness.  Read  with  recollection  that, 
after  you  have  perused  the  book,  you  will  never  be  a^ain 
as  you  have  been,  since,  if  you  are  not  converted,  you 
will  acquire  new  light  and  new  responsibility,  by  which 
an  unconverted  state  will  involve  a  deeper  ffuilt,  and  a 
more  dreadful  punishment.  Read,  especially,  with  sin- 
cere, fervent,  and  believing-  prayer  for  the  help  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit.  And  may  the  Lord  render  the  perusal  the 
means  of  your  conversion !  J.  A.  James. 


THE 


GREAT  CHANGE. 


PART  I. 

ON  CONVERSION. 


PRELIMINARY  ADDRESS 

TO    THE    READER. 

A  MINISTER  of  the  gospel  was  once  summoned 
to  visit  a  young  lady  in  deep  affliction.  She  was 
an  entire  stranger,  but  had  been  occasionally  one 
of  his  hearers.  The  case  was  represented  as 
urgent,  and  no  time  was  lost  in  complying  with 
the  invitation.  But  though  it  required  not  more 
than  half  an  hour  to  reach  the  house,  yet  he 
arrived  too  late.  Akhough  not  dead,  she  was  not 
in  a  state  to  be  spoken  to,  and  the  medical  at- 
tendant decidedly  forbade  any  attempt  to  converse 
with  her.  Upon  inquiry  of  her  mother,  it  was 
stated  that  she  had  been  ill  for  several  weeks,  and 
had  frequently  expressed  the  strongest  desire  to 
see  that  minister;  but  her  friends  put  it  off'  till  it 
was  too  late,  and  shortly  after  she  died  without  the 

15 


16  PRELIMINARY    ADDRESS 

opportunity  of  an  interview.  Reader,  pause  and 
reflect  upon  these  words — too  late!  They  seem 
to  suggest  this  lesson — Think  in  time.  No  one 
was  ever  injured  by  thinking  in  time  ;  but  muhi- 
tudes  have  had  to  deplore,  in  reference  to  all  sorts 
of  subjects  and  interests,  that  they  began  to  think 
when  it  was  too  late.  If  persons  are  about  to 
take  any  important  step  in  life,  upon  which  their 
future  comfort  or  success  depends,  they  usually 
think  intensely,  and  always  will  do  so,  if  they  are 
wise.  Take  the  following  illustration : — A  man 
has  a  cause  to  be  tried  before  a  judge  and  jury, 
which  involves  his  property,  his  character,  or  his 
life  :  will  he  wait  till  the  day  and  hour  of  trial, 
before  he  inquires  what  may  be  necessary  to  his 
defence  ?  Will  he  not  endeavour  to  anticipate 
every  argument  or  proof  that  may  be  brought 
against  him,  and  every  circumstance  that  may  be 
in  his  favour  ?  The  answer  is,  he  certainly  will, 
if  he  is  wise. 

Let  us  conceive  another  case.  You  are  about 
to  embark  on  board  a  ship  for  a  long  and  perilous 
voyage.  Not  only  yourself,  but  those  dearest  to 
your  affections  are  to  be  your  companions,  to  be 
bound  with  you  to  the  same  destination.  Would 
you  not  use  every  precaution  to  ascertain  the  trust- 
worthiness of  the  vessel,  the  captain,  and  the 
crew  ?  Would  you  not  sit  down,  and  both  calmly 
and  carefully  think,  what  would  be  desirable  for 
your  comfort,  or  required  for  your  necessities 
during  the  voyage  ? 

All  this,  you  admit,  is  perfectly  reasonable  and 
prudent.  To  neglect  thinking  in  time  in  any  of 
these  instances,  and  many  similar  ones,  would 
justly  expose  any  person  to  the  charge  of  rashness, 
folly,  or  thoughtlessness  ;  and  if,  by  such  neglect, 


TO    THE    READER.  17 

he  should  at  last  become  involved  in  difficulties 
and  sufferings,  he  would  have  little  claim  upon 
the  sympathy  of  his  fellow-men.  He  might  have 
avoided  all  these  inconveniences  by  the  exercise 
of  only  ordinary  prudence.  He  did  not  employ 
forethought,  and  so  he  has  become  inextricably 
perplexed.  To  induce  you  to  think,  to  direct 
you  how  to  think  efficiently,  and  to  prompt  you 
to  think  in  time,  upon  the  most  important  of  all 
concerns,  is  the  object  of  the  present  volume. 
If  you  are  right  and  safe  in  your  hopes  and  pros- 
pects for  futurity,  the  reading  of  these  pages  will 
confirm  you  in  them ;  but  if  you  are  mistaken, 
deceived,  or  have  hitherto  been  thoughtless  and 
careless,  not  now  to  think,  may  be  to  inflict  upon 
yourself  irreparable  injury.  You  must  think  at 
some  time,  and  if  that  should  not  be  till  it  is  too 
late,  your  thoughts  will  then  only  prove  tor- 
mentors. They  will  certainly  issue  in  remorse, 
agony,  and  terror. 

But  some  of  my  readers  may  here  say,  "  It  is 
yet  time  enough;  it  is  not  too  late:  we  will  think 
hereafter,  when  we  have  more  leisure,  or  a  better 
inclination."  If  you  will  examine  this  reason  for 
delay,  you  will  at  once  perceive  its  fallacy.  The 
precise  period  when  it  may  be  too  late  to  think  of 
your  soul  and  its  salvation,  no  human  wisdom  can 
determine.  It  is  impossible  for  yourself,  or  any 
one  else,  to  foresee  and  fix  the  day,  the  month,  or 
the  year.  It  is  the  uncertainty  of  the  period  when 
consideration  may  be  too  late,  that  should  induce 
you  to  think  without  delay.  Can  you  say  that 
the  awful  meaning  of  the  expression  too  late  may 
not  be  felt  by  you  this  week,  to-morrow,  or  this 
night?  It  may  even  now,  with  all  its  infinite 
and  endless  consequences,  be  hanofing  over  you. 
2^- 


18  PRELIMINARY    ADDRESS. 

By  the  Sovereign  Author  of  your  being  you  are 
allowed  no  tinne  for  delay,  and  if  you  take  it,  you 
take  it  upon  a  fearful  venture.  If  you  should 
repent  too  late,  what  is  the  doom  that  awaits  you? 
Then  you  will  be  a  lost  soul!  Many  are  lost  be- 
cause they  did  not  think  of  repenting  till  it  was 
too  late.  Think  in  time.  Your  immortal  soul 
may  be  saved  or  lost,  as  you  now  think,  or  refuse 
to  think ;  yea,  it  must  ere  long  be  either  saved  or 
lost  for  eternity.  Read  this  little  treatise,  there- 
fore, under  the  impression  that,  by  the  divine 
blessing,  it  may  lead  to  your  conversion. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CONVERSION    EXPLAINED. 

Our  first  business,  in  presenting  to  you  a  treatise 
upon  conversion,  must  be  to  explain  what,  accord- 
ing to  our  judgment,  the  word  of  God  intends  by- 
conversion. When  you  are  in  possession  of  the 
true  notion,  that  is,  the  scriptural  and  divine  idea 
of  this  important  subject,  you  will  labour  under 
no  uncertainty  or  obscurity  as  to  the  change  you 
are  required  to  undergo  before  you  can  hope  to 
escape  perdition  and  enjoy  everlasting  life.  We 
observe,  therefore,  that  it  is  a  change,  or  a  turning 
about  of  our  mind  or  heart,  and  signities  a  re- 
versing of  our  moral  and  religious  state,  a  com- 
plete transformation  of  the  character — from  irre- 
ligion  to  piety,  from  sin  to  holiness,  from  unbelief 
to  faith,  from  impenitence  to  contrition  and  con- 
fession, from  the  service  of  the  world  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  from  uneasiness  to  peace,  from  fear 
to  hope,  from  death  to  life.  It  is  important  you 
should  observe  that  this  is  mainly,  though  not 
exclusively,  an  inward  change.  It  must  begin  in 
the  heart  and  extend  to  the  whole  character.  You 
must  become,  in  a  moral  and  religious  sense,  a 
new  creature.  You  must  not  hmit  your  notion 
to  that  which  is  merely  external  and  visible,  or 
imagine  that  any  mere  change  of  conduct  or  pro- 
fession is  conversion.  There  are  freouently  con- 
siderable changes  wrought  in  external  behaviour, 

19 


20  CONVERSION    EXPLAINED. 

and  these  even  much  for  the  better,  when  there 
is  no  real  change  of  heart,  no  conversion.  A 
man  may  change  from  being  a  drunkard,  become 
strictly  sober,  and  yet  not  be  converted.  He  may 
turn  from  any  vicious  course  to  the  observance 
of  the  strictest  rules  of  virtue,  and  not  be  con- 
verted. He  may  relinquish  irreligious  habits,  and 
observe  the  sabbath,  be  regular  at  public  worship, 
and  attend  to  all  the  rites  of  religion,  and  not  be 
converted.  He  may  turn  from  infidelity  to  a  firm 
belief  in  the  divine  authority  of  the  Bible,  and 
not  be  converted.  He  may  turn  from  one  sort  of 
religion  to  another,  and  yet  not  be  converted.  A 
Papist  may  become  a  Protestant,  or  a  Protestant 
a  Papist,  and  yet  be,  in  God's  sight,  unconverted. 
Although  that  lying  church  tells  all  that  embrace 
its  creed  and  practice  its  superstitions,  that  it  will 
answer  for  their  salvation,  yet  it  can  offer  no 
guarantee  but  its  own  impious  presumption  ;  and 
that  will  be  detected  when  it  will  be  too  late  for 
those  who  have  heedlessly  trusted  it,  either  to  re- 
ject its  delusions,  or  demand,  what  they  ought 
first  to  have  demanded,  divine  authority  for  their 
faith,  and  not  the  bare  assertions  of  frail  and  falli- 
ble men. 

.  Conversion  is  something  more  inw^ard,  spiritual, 
and  peculiar  ;  more  closely  in  contact  with  the  in-' 
most  soul,  more  thoroughly  and  deeply  seated  in 
the  heart,  than  any  of  the  changes  already  named. 
It  may  indeed  involve  and  require  a  turning  from 
some  of  these  states,  from  some  of  these  practices 
and  habits,  to  others  quite  opposite  ;  but,  in  itself, 
it  consists  in  none  of  them.  It  is  a  change  of  the 
natural  and  carnal  mind,  \\>rought  by  the  Spirit  of 
C4od,  and  raising  it  from  the  degradation  of  things 
seen  and  temporal,  to  the  desire  and  pursuit  of  those 


COXVERSIOX    EXPLAINED.  21 

that  are  divine  and  spiritual.  It  begins  in  the  heart 
and  nnind,  in  serious  and  sorrowful  reflection  upon 
our  sinful  state,  as  destitute  of  the  supreme  love  of 
God,  alienated  in  desire  and  in  practice  from  his 
holiness,  with  the  heart  devoted  to  sin  or  worldly 
trifles,  and  in  consequence  under  divine  displea- 
sure, and  condemned  by  the  terms  of  God's  per- 
fect law.  When  such  convictions  are  deeply 
lodged  in  the  mind  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  it  is 
made  anxious  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  it  searches 
the  Scriptures  with  this  view.  Then  Christ 
appears  as  the  one  Mediator,  the  one  Sacrifice, 
through  which  "whosoever  believeth  in  him  shall 
not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."^  Conver- 
sion is  effected  when,  on  account  of  the  burden 
of  our  sins,  we  feel  our  need  of  Him,  and,  throuq-h 
his  grace  given  unto  us,  we  believe  the  precious 
promise,  which  says,  "Whosoever  shall  call  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved, "t  and. 
"Whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life 
freely. "+  Man  by  nature  loves  sin  in  some  of  its 
degrees  and  forms,  or  so  loves  and  pursues  inno- 
cent and  lawful  things  as  to  exclude  the  supreme 
love  of  God.  But,  in  conversion,  he  turns  with 
disgust  from  all  direct  iniquity,  and  looks  with 
comparative  indifference  upon  natural  joys,  under 
the  sense  of  possessing,  in  the  promise  of  the 
gospel,  a  far  higher  good.  Hence  the  Scripture 
represents  conversion  as  a  neiv  birth,  a  new  life, 
a  new  nature,  a  neiv  creation,  effected  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  "Old  things  are  passed  away; 
behold,  all  things  are  become  new."§ 

We  must  observe  an^ain  ;  conversion  does  not 


*  John  iii.  IG.  jRom.  x.  13. 

4  Rev.  xxii.  17.  §  2  Cor.  v.  17. 


22  CONVERSION    EXPLAINED. 

consist  in  a  mere  feeling  of  alarm,  nor  of  hope  ;  it 
is  not  mere  conviction  of  sin,  nor  mere  knowledge 
of  the  gospel.  Neither  is  it  a  mere  desire  to  be 
converted  :  but  it  is  a  real,  conscious  turning  unto 
C4od ;  a  clear,  and  decided,  and  entire  belief  of 
his  testimony,  accompanied,  as  all  sincere  belief 
must  be,  with  a  permanent  change  of  heart.  The 
sinner,  if  converted,  perceives  that  he  is  a  lost  and 
helpless  rebel  against  God  ;  that  his  guilt  requires 
pardon,  his  pollution  needs  cleansing.  He  becomes 
sensible  that  he  is  dead  in  sins,  and  needs  quicken- 
ing grace  ;  he  even  then  feels  that  grace  effectually- 
working  in  his  heart.  In  fact,  conversion  expresses 
the  entire  change  which  a  vivid  and  practical 
belief  of  the  gospel  produces  in  the  soul. 

But,  perhaps,  you  have  not  a  clear  notion  of 
what  the  Scripture  requires,  when  it  demands 
faith  in  Christ  for  salvation,  saying,  "Whosoever 
believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  ashamed."*  What 
is  it  then  to  believe?  The  idea  conveyed  by  that 
term  requires  only  to  be  presented  in  its  proper 
simplicity.  Persons  have  very  vague,  confused, 
and  mystified  notions  of  believing.  Yet  the  term 
is  one  of  the  plainest  that  can  be  used.  We  all 
know  perfectly  well  what  it  signifies  when  it  is 
used  in  common  life.  Its  meaning  is  the  same 
when  it  is  used  in  religion.  It  does  not  express 
any  act  of  the  mind  different  from  that  which  is 
intended  when  we  fully  confide  in  the  testimony 
of  a  fellow-creature  of  known  and  tried  veracity. 
It  is  the  confidence  the  mind  places  in  the  truth 
of  the  words  spoken,  whether  those  words  convey 
a  statement  of  some  past  fact,  or  a  promise  of 
something   to  be   done.     If  a   friend,   of  whose 

*  Rom.  ix.  33. 


CONVERSION    EXPLAINED.  23 

veracity  you  not  only  have  no  reason  to  entertain 
a  doubt,  but  of  whose  integrity  you  have  proof 
sufficient  to  warrant  an  unwavering-  confidence, 
imparts  any  piece  of  intelligence,  and  says  he 
knows  its  certainty,  and  can  vouch  for  its  accuracy, 
you  then  feel  w^arranted  in  placing  entire  reliance 
upon  his  w^ord  ;  and  if  it  is  a  matter  that  requires 
you  to  act,  you  do  not  hesitate  to  give  practical 
proof  of  your  faith  in  the  word  of  your  friend. 
And  yet  in  all  such  cases  there  is  a  possibility 
that  this  friend  may  deceive  you ;  he  may  be 
deceived  himself.  There  is  a  possibility,  and 
however  bare  that  possibility,  yet  the  admission 
of  it  is  all  that  I  require  for  my  present  purpose. 
Suppose  a  friend  to  proceed  beyond  the  mere 
announcement  of  some  fact,  and  makes  us  a  pro- 
mise of  some  future,  important  benefit  he  means 
to  confer ;  we  should  then  admit  some  other  con- 
siderations before  we  entirely  confided  in  his  pro- 
mise. For  instance,  we  should  inquire,  Is  he  a 
man  of  benevolence?  Has  he  any  particular 
friendship  for  us  ?  Is  he  in  the  habit  of  perform- 
ing generous  actions  ?  Can  he  fulfil  this  promise 
without  serious  sacrifice  or  loss  ?  If  we  found 
every  inquiry  of  this  kind  could  be  satisfactorily 
answered,  we  should  then  have  valid  ground  for 
believing  his  promise,  and  we  should  feel  no 
hesitation  in  anticipating  its  fulfilment.  We 
should  be  especially  encouraged  in  such  an  anti- 
cipation, if  we  knew  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
conferring  such  favolirs.  In  proportion  to  the 
magnitude  of  the  promise,  would  be  our  anxiety 
to  weigh  well  every  consideration  that  could  con- 
tribute to  the  ascertainment  of  his  sincerity,  ability, 
veracity,  benevolent  habits,  and  such  like.  But 
if  all  these  points  are  satisfactorily  settled,  then 


24  CONVERSION    EXPLAINED. 

■we  should  fully  anticipate,  at  the  appointed  time, 
the  fulfilment  of  the  promise.  Now,  this  is  faith. 
This  is  just  that  exercise  of  mind  that  God  re- 
quires towards  himself  and  his  promises.  There 
are,  however,  some  important  observations  which 
must  not  be  overlooked.  Faith  in  God  derives 
all  its  virtue  and  efficacy  from  that  ivhich  is 
believed.  It  is  the  faithfulness  of  God  that  makes 
a  true  faith  in  him  so  important,  so  precious,  so 
efficient.  There  are  certain  contingencies  and 
possibilities,  which,  after  all,  must  be  admitted  to 
attach  to  the  promises  of  a  fellow-mortal,  as  in 
the  case  lately  supposed.  For  instance,  that  per- 
son may,  after  all,  fail  us,  and,  though  the  fullest 
confidence  is  reposed  in  his  word,  we  may  never 
receive  what  he  has  promised.  He  may  change 
his  mind ;  he  may  die  before  the  time  appointed 
arrives  ;  he  may  lose  his  property,  and  not  be  able 
to  fulfil  his  word ;  we  may  offend  him  in  the  inter- 
val :  and,  therefore,  we  never  can  be  quite  sure  of 
receiving  the  desired  good.  Hence,  faith  in  man, 
in  the  best,  in  the  sincerest,  in  the  most  trustwor- 
thy, must  always  be  qualified,  and  exercised  with 
certain  limitations.  We  never  can  be  infallibly 
sure  that  we  shall  not  be  disappointed.  But  none 
of  these  contingencies  apply  to  the  faith  of  a  sin- 
ner in  God.  He  will  never  retract  his  promise, 
can  never  alter  his  word,  will  never  lose  his  ability, 
will  never  reject  a  believing  sinner.  Hence  the 
power  of  that  faith  in  him  to  save  the  soul. 
When  we  thus  believe  in  Tjrod,  it  is  his  word  re- 
ceived into  the  soul  which  converts  it,  that  is, 
brings  it  to  confide,  to  hope,  to  rejoice,  to  obey. 
Thus  faith  is  the  cardinal  virtue  of  the  Christian, 
the  root  and  stem  of  all  graces.  Till  we  believe, 
we  are  not  converted  :  as  soon  as  we  do  believe, 


CONVERSION    EXPLAINED.  25 

according  to  his  word,  we  are  converted.  Hence 
the  grace  and  promise  of  the  gospel  must  be  known 
and  understood  before  they  can  be  cordially  be- 
lieved. This  is  the  kind  of  conversion  which  the 
Scriptures  enforce.  When  once  the  happy  change 
has  passed, — and  pass  it  must  on  all  who  would  en- 
joy^eternal  life, — the  converted  man  feels  like  ono 
translated  out  of  darkness  into  marvellous  hght ; 
a  new  world  opens  before  him ;  a  new  object  and 
end  of  life  seem  to  have  taken  possession  of  him  ; 
a  new  and  opposite  direction  is  given  to  the  ener- 
gies of  his  soul ;  and  now  all  his  desire,  all  his 
anxiety  seems  to  be  after  that  salvation  which 
before  he  neither  sought,  nor  apprehended,  nor 
valued. 

Reader,  if  the  foregoing  brief  sketch  of  true 
conversion  be  scriptural,  if  it  approve  itself  to 
your  conscience,  as  borne  out  and  sustained  by 
the  requirements  of  the  divine  word,  if  you  know 
it  to  be  that  very  conversion,  without  which  no 
man  shall  see  the  kingdom  of  God,  then  it  is  for 
you  to  judge  whether  or  not  you  have  thus  been 
converted.  It  is  the  earnest  desire  of  the  writer 
that  you  should  feel  constrained  to  answer  this 
question,  and  that  you  should  answer  it  now, 
calmly  and  solemnly,  as  before  your  own  con- 
science, and  in  the  sight  of  that  God  who  seeth 
in  secret,  and  who  will  judge  you  at  the  last  day. 
Let  me  entreat  you  to  answer  this  question  now 
remembering  that  this  is  conversion,  the  conver 
sion  Jesus  Christ  requires,  that  without  which 
none  can  be  saved — without  which  you  will  be 
lost. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    IMPORTANCE    AND    NECESSITY    OF    CONVERSION 
ENFORCED. 

l.SiN  has  made  it  necessary  that,  "  except  a 
man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  God."^  This  is  revealed  by  Christ  in  the  dis- 
course with  Nicodemus,  as  well  as  in  numerous 
other  places  ;  and  it  would  be  unnecessary  to 
quote  further  evidence  on  what  is  so  plainly  and 
uniformly  expressed  in  the  New  Testament.  You 
must,  therefore,  realize  the  fact,  that  the  nature  of 
God  makes  it  necessary  that  every  sinner  should 
undergo  this  change.  He  has  declared  that  no 
sinner,  in  his  sinful,  unrenewed  and  unconverted 
state,  shall  see  his  face  ;  and  you  can  no  more 
evade  this  law  than  that  which  says,  "All  flesh 
shall  see  corruption."  It  is  declared  in  that  re- 
velation v/hich  is  stamped  with  Heaven's  high 
authority,  that  a  man  must  be  converted,  and  be- 
come as  a  little  child,  or  he  cannot  see  God's  king- 
dom; that  every  one  must  repent,  must  believe  in 
Christ  and  become  a  nev/  man.  Now,  Jesus 
Christ  repeated  this  constantly,  and  enforced  it 
upon  all,  with  his  own  authority  and  that  of  his 
Father  who  sent  him.  Throughout  the  whole  of 
his  preaching,  this  doctrine  appears.  He  sent  out 
his  apostles  and  many  chosen  disciples  to  call  men 
everywhere  to  receive  his  testimony  ;  and  they 
went  forth,  preaching  to  sinners  that  they  should 
repent  of  sin  and  turn  to  Christ,  as  the  Lamb  of 

»  John  iii.  3. 
36 


ITS    IMPORTANCE    AND    NECESSITY.  27 

God  that  had  come  to  take  away  the  sin  of  the 
world. 

It  is  a  law  as  certain,  as  infallible,  as  universal, 
as  any  laid  upon  the  material  universe,  upon  hu- 
man bodies  or  human  minds  : — "Ye  must  be  born 
again."*  It  is,  moreover,  a  law  that  never  has 
been,  that  never  can  be,  dispensed  with.  Do 
you  think,  or  can  you  think,  that  there  will  be  any 
exception  in  your  case  to  that  law,  "Except  ye 
be  converted — ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  ?"t  Can  you  imagine  that  there  can 
exist  any  reason  so  weighty  as  to  induce  God  to 
alter  this  law  for  your  sake,  and  to  receive  you  to 
heaven  without  a  compliance  with  it?  Impossi- 
ble !  Eternally  impossible  !  If  you  reflect  upon 
the  nature  of  God,  you  will  perceive  that  his  will 
does  and  must  prevail.  It  must  be  supreme  and 
final,  because  he  is  God.  It  cannot  bend,  it  will 
not  bow  to  yours.  Yours  must  bow  to  it,  what- 
ever pain  and  humiliation  it  may  cost  you.  It  is 
a  divine  obligation  laid  upon  you  by  your  relation 
to  God  ;  and  until  you  feel  its  force  and  necessity, 
you  are  an  active  and  open  rebel  against  Him. 
You  may  think  it  a  very  hard  thing,  but  that  will 
not  alter  the  case  ;  or  you  may  think  it  a  v^ry 
light  thing,  and  talk  of  it  in  very  light  terms,  but 
this  will  not  change  your  position.  There  is  no 
salvation — God  has  said  it — there  can  be  none — 
Christ  declares  that  there  can  be  none — without 
conversion.  You  may  think,  as  many  have  done, 
that  this  law  does  not  apply  to  your  case,  because 
you  are  free  from  great  sins,  and  have  always  en- 
deavoured to  do  your  duty. 

2.   The  necessity  of  conversion  may  be   still 

•  John  iii  7.  -j- Matt,  xviii.  3. 


28  THE    IMPORTANCE    AND    NECESSITY 

further  illustrated,  by  a  comparison  of  the  nature 
of  sinners  and  the  nature  of  God.  A  sinner  in  his 
rebellious  state  cannot  be  received  as  an  affection- 
ate and  obedient  child  of  God.  Think  of  it  your- 
self. No  absurdity  could  be  greater  or  more 
glaring  than  to  suppose  the  enjoyment  of  such  a 
state  as  that  of  acceptance  before  God  without 
conversion  ;  because  that  were  to  suppose  a  guilty, 
impenitent,  rebellious  sinner  in  heaven,  with  a 
nature  utterly  opposed  to  heaven  and  its  righte- 
ous Sovereign.  It  were  to  suppose  vice  dwelling 
in  the  region  of  perfect  purity ;  hostility  to  God 
raised  to  the  honour  of  immortal  fellowship  with 
him ;  and  deep,  unsubdued,  hateful  depravity  reap- 
ing the  reward  of  faith  and  love,  and  in  association 
with  all  that  is  pure,  glorious  and  blessed.  Such 
incongruities  could  not,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be 
tolerated  by  Him  who  has  the  power  of  prevent- 
ing them.  A  sinner  in  an  impenitent  and  uncon- 
verted state  would  but  suffer  torment  in  the  pre- 
sence of  heavenly  purity.  That  which  most  hates 
God,  is  most  opposed  to  his  nature,  could  find  no 
delight  in  dwelling  forever  with  him  ;  and  that 
which  now  shrinks  instinctively  from  the  sight 
of  his  eye,  from  the  sound  of  his  word,  and  the 
conviction  of  his  Spirit,  would  quail  and  tremble 
and  be  full  of  torment,  in  the  presence  of  God 
and  his  holy  angels.  Then,  you  must  be  converted 
if  you  desire  to  dwell  with  God  ;  or,  if  you  refuse 
to  be  converted,  abandon  altogether  the  hope  of 
being  saved  from  hell.  Sin  and  punishment,  im- 
penitence and  destruction,  are  united  together  by 
an  eternal,  infallible  law,  which  you  never  can 
annul,  never  evade,  never  overcome  ;  and  which 
God  will  never  abrogate.  Then,  we  say  again, 
repent  and  be  converted,  or  you  are  lost. 


OF  CONVERSION  ENFORCED.  29 

3.  Consider  the  consequences  as  to  your  own 
state  and  feelings  through  life,  in  the  prospect  of 
death,  and  through  your  immortal  existence,  which 
the  word  of  God  represents  as  naturally  and  ne- 
cessarily attendant  upon  conversion  on  the  one 
hand,  or  impenitence  and  unbelief,  on  the  other. 
The  contrast  between  these  two  classes  of  conse- 
quences is  immense,  awful  and  beyond  the  power 
of  description.  You  will  scarcely  attempt  to  deny 
that  the  question.  Am  I  converted  or  unconverted? 
surpasses  every  other  that  can  engage  your  atten- 
tion ;  that  is  to  say,  it  is  infinitely  more  important 
than  any  question  relating  to  your  temporal  con- 
dition in  this  life.  For,  whether  you  are  rich  or 
poor,  still  you  must  die  ;  and  then  it  will  be  of  no 
moment  whether  you  have  fed  upon  delicacies,  or 
obtained  your  bread,  and  that  a  scanty  portion,  by 
the  sweat  of  your  brow  ;  whether  you  have  hved 
to  old  age,  or  been  cut  off  in  youth ;  and  to  spend 
a  few  more  years  in  a  mortal  body,  is,  after  all, 
not  so  great  a  matter  as  either  to  make  you  very 
anxious  for  its  enjoyment,  or  very  sad  if  it  should 
be  denied.  Whether  you  are  honoured,  admired 
and  remembered  among  mortal  men  like  yourself, 
or  whether  you  live  unknown  and  die  unnoticed 
and  neglected,  is  comparatively  a  trifling  matter. 
And  whether  your  life,  be  it  long  or  short,  is 
passed  in  the  possession  of  unbroken  health, 
or  in  sickness,  debility  and  dependence,  is,  com- 
paratively, a  trivial  matter.  Or  whether  you 
have  seen  and  tasted  all  the  good  there  is  for  the 
sons  of  men  in  this  life,  or  have  been  born  to 
trouble  and  to  toil,  is  also  of  little  importance 
But  whether  at  death  you  shall  be  lost  forever,  or 
be  forever  saved  and  made  happy,  is  a  matter  of 
infinite  concern.  You  must  admit  that  it  is  so. 
3* 


30  THE    IMPOKTANCE    AND    NECESSITY 

All  is  triflino^  in  comparison  with  it.  The  very 
thought  of  the  solemn  issue  awaiting  your  death, 
must  inevitably  have  an  influence  upon  your  pre 
sent  feelings.  Think,  I  beseech  you,  of  the  in 
finite  difference  in  the  hour  of  death,  between  the 
two  states  of  faith  and  unbelief;  the  two  emotions 
of  hope  and  fear.  It  is  all  the  difference  between 
heaven  and  hell !  Think,  then,  of  the  vast,  the  as 
tounding  contrast  between  the  peaceful  departure 
of  a  real  Christian,  a  truly  converted  person,  having 
in  his  soul  the  hope  of  glory,  and  saying,  as  many 
have  done,  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant 
de])art  in  peace,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  sal' 
vation;"*  "Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly;"! 
"  I  have  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ  ;"± 
and  the  guilty  recollections  of  an  impenitent 
and  unconverted  sinner,  who  has  all  his  life 
long  served  Satan  and  the  world,  and  given  no 
attention  to  the  interests  of  his  soul,  and  of  that 
world  to  which  he  goes.  Think  of  him,  as  en- 
compassed on  all  sides  with  fear  ;  bowed  down  by 
the  insupportable  burden  of  guilt;  a  conscience 
but  a  canker,  or  worse — a  burning  brand  within 
the  soul,  set  on  fire  by  the  anticipation  of  hell  tor- 
ments ;  dreading  to  depart,  yet  feehng  that  he 
must  depart  in  a  few  moments  more  to  the  bar  of 
Divine  justice,  and  thence  to  the  abyss  of  unutter- 
able torments.  This  appalling  contrast  may  readi- 
ly be  illustrated  by  a  few  well-known  facts,  which 
will  show  that  I  have  not  presented  an  imaginary 
picture,  but  what  has  been  frequently,  and  is  still 
constantly,  realized. 

Hobbes,  the  infidel  philosopher,  referring  to  his 
death,  and  anticipating  it  as  near,  said  he  "  should 
be  glad  then  to  find  a  hole  at  which  to  creep  out 

*  Luke  ii.  29,  30.        f  Rev.  xxii.  20.        t  Phil.  i.  23. 


OF    CONVERSION    ENFORCED.  31 

of  the  world."  And  when  he  drew  near  to  the 
moment,  he  confessed  that  he  was  "about  to  take 
a  leap  in  the  dark."  The  Hon.  F.  Newport,  who 
had  received  a  religious  education,  but  turned 
infidel,  said  in  his  last  sickness,  lookinir  at  the  fire 
in  his  chamber,  "  O  that  I  was  to  lie  and  broil 
upon  that  fire  for  a  hundred  thousand  years,  to 
purchase  the  favour  of  God,  and  be  reconciled 
to  him  again!  But  it  is  a  fruitless,  vain  wish, 
Millions  of  millions  of  years  will  bring  me  no 
nearer  the  end  of  my  tortures  than  one  poor  hour. 

0  eternity  !  eternity  !  Who  can  properly  para- 
phrase upon  the  words/or  ever  and  ever?''  Vol- 
taire said  to  Dr.  Tronchin,  "  I  am  abandoned  by 
God  and  man.  I  will  give  you  half  of  what  I  am 
worth  if  you  will  give  me  six  months'  life."  The 
doctor  said,  "  Sir,  you  cannot  live  six  weeks." 
Voltaire  replied,  "Then  I  shall  go  to  hell,  and 
you  will  go  with  me;"  and  soon  after  expired. 
Would  any  one  say,  Let  me  die  the  death  of  Vol- 
taire, of  Newport,  or  of  Hobbcs  ?  Take  an  in- 
stance or  two  of  dying  Christians.  Dr.  Leland, 
departing  from  life,  said,  "  I  give  my  dying  testi- 
mony to  the  truth  of  Christianity.  The  promises 
of  the  gospel  are  my  support  and  consolation. 
They  alone  yield  me  satisfaction  in  a  dying  hour. 

1  am  not  afraid  to  die.  The  gospel  of  Christ  has 
raised  me  above  the  fear  of  death ;  for  I  know 
that  my  Redeemer  liveth."  Mr.  W^alker,  of  Truro, 
said,  "I  have  been  upon  the  wings  of  the  cherubim! 
Heaven  has,  in  a  manner,  been  opened  to  me  !  I 
shall  soon  be  there!"  To  another  friend,  soon 
after,  he  said,  "O  my  friend,  had  I  strength  to 
speak,  I  could  tell  you  such  news  as  would  rejoice 
your  very  soul !  I  have  had  such  views  of  hea- 
ven !     But  I  am  not  able  to  say  more."     "  O  my 


1^ 


32  ITS    IMPORTANCE    AND    NECESSITY. 

friends,"  said  Mr.  Janeway,  "stand  and  wonder; 
come,  look  upon  a  dying  man,  and  wonder !  Was 
there  ever  greater  kindness  ?  Was  there  ever  more 
sensible  manifestations  of  rich  grace  ?  O,  why 
me,  Lord  ?  why  me  ?  Sure  this  is  akin  to  heaven. 
If  this  be  dying,  dying  is  sweet.  Let  no  Christian 
ever  be  afraid  of  dying  !  O,  death  is  sweet  to 
me !  This  bed  is  soft.  Christ's  arms,  his  smiles 
and  visits,  sure  they  would  turn  hell  into  heaven  ! 

0  that  you  did  but  see  and  feel  what  I  do  !  Come 
and  behold  a  dying  man,  more  cheerful  than  ever 
you  saw  any  healthful  man  in  the  midst  of  his 
sweetest  enjoyments.  O  sirs,  worldly  pleasures 
are  pitiful,  poor,  sorry  things,  compared  with  one 
glimpse  of  His  glory  which  shines  so  strongly  into 
my  soul.  O  !  why  should  any  of  you  be  so  sad, 
when  I  am  so  glad  ?     This,  this  is  the  hour  that 

1  have  waited  for !"  Again,  some  hours  after,  he 
said,  "Methinks  I  stand,  as  it  were,  one  foot  in 
heaven,  and  the  other  on  earth.  Methinks  I  hear 
the  melody  of  heaven,  and  by  faith  I  see  the  angels 
waiting  to  carry  my  soul  to  the  bosom  of  Jesus  : 
and  I  shall  be  forever  with  the  Lord  in  glory. 
And  who  can  choose  but  rejoice  in  all  this  ?"  In 
such  strains  he  continued,  till,  at  length,  full  of 

jfaith  and  joy,  he  cried  aloud,  "Amen  !  amen  !'* 
and  soon  after  expired.  A  pious  youth,  dying  in 
extreme  bodily  anguish,  once  said  to  the  writer  of 
these  pages,  "  I  would  not  exchange  my  place 
with  a  prince."* 

These  contrasted  cases,  it  is  admitted,  are  strong 
ones,  and  you  may  never  sink  to  the  misery  of  the 

•  See  this  contrast  further  illustrated  in  "The  Anchob," 
and  "The  Thke  and  its  FnuiTs,"  boih  published  by  the 
American  Sunday-School  Union.  Com.  of  Pub 


THE    STATE    OF    THE    UNCONVERTED.  33 

one  class,  nor  rise  to  the  exultation  and  seraphic 
joy  of  the  other.  Yet,  if  we  admit  that  none  of 
these  strong  characteristics  may  ever  attach  to 
you,  still  the  reality,  the  main  substance  will  be 
yours,  because  your  state  after  death  will  be  happy 
or  miserable  forever,  according  as  you  are,  or  are 
not,  a  converted  person.  Think  of  this :  either 
angels  will  wait  for  your  departing  spirit,  to  convey 
it  to  the  bosom  of  Jesus,  where  it  will  enjoy  ful- 
ness of  pleasure  for  evermore  ;  or  devils,  with 
malign  satisfaction,  will  watch  for  the  fatal 
moment  of  its  expulsion  from  the  frail  body,  to 
seize  upon  it  as  their  prey,  to  chase  or  drag  it 
down  to  the  regions  of  eternal  despair.  There  is 
a  hell,  and  there  is  a  heaven.  Of  this  the  Bible 
assures  us.  The  one  is  for  the  unconverted  and 
unbeheving,  the  other  for  those  who  have  sub- 
mitted to  the  divine  mandate,  "Be  converted."* 
The  question,  then,  Shall  I  be  lost,  or  shall  I  be 
saved  ?  is  clearly  shown  to  be  of  infinite  import- 
ance to  each  reader;  and  the  point  upon  which 
it  turns  is  this,  Am  I,  or  am  I  not,  converted  ? 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    STATE    OF    THE    UNCONVERTED. 

If  I  may  suppose  that  you  are  at  the  present 
moment  unconverted,  and  if  you  candidly  admit 
it  yourself,  then  there  are  but  two  questions  which 
have  to  be  answered  before  we  proceed  with  the 
great  subject  of  this  little  treatise. 

*Acts  lil.  19. 


34  Tin:  state  of  the  unconverted. 

The  first  is,  Can  any  unconverted  person  really 
assure  himself  that  he  shall  not  be  finally  lost  ? 
Or,  secondly,  Can  he  really  imagine  that  he  is  able 
to  disprove  the  authority  of  that  volume  which 
asserts,  that  every  unconverted  and  impenitent 
sinner  shall  really  at  death  be  lost  forever? 

As  to  the  latter  of  these  questions,  I  might 
rJmost  take  it  for  granted  that  you  will  not  at  once 
j)resume  to  say  that  the  Bible  is  all  false,  and  that 
you  can  prove  it  so.  And  yet,  if  you  say  so,  if 
you  only  think  so,  or  hope  so,  you  ought  to  be 
v/ell  fortified,  not  with  mere  doubts  and  questions, 
not  with  quibbles  and  difficulties,  but  with  positive, 
direct,  and  indubitable  evidence  of  the  most  com- 
plete and  satisfactory  kind  ;  else  you  will  be  inex- 
cusable before  God  and  your  own  conscience  for 
disregarding  its  authority.  But  I  am  quite  certain 
that  you  are  not  possessed  of  such  evidence  ;  that 
you  cannot  be  prepared  to  set  aside  the  authority 
of  the  Bible  even  to  your  own  satisfaction,  however 
much  an  alarmed  and  an  evil  heart  might  incline 
you  to  wish  it.  Yet,  if  you  should  think  you  are, 
then  I  must  refer  the  consideration  of  your  case  to 
that  part  of  this  work  where  your  unbelief,  and 
the  nature  of  your  objections,  will  be  more  fully 
noticed.  I  shall  here  reason  with  you  as  one  con- 
vinced, and  powerfully  feeling,  that  the  authority 
of  the  Bible  cannot  be  set  aside. 

Admitting,  then,  the  authority  of  that  divine  and 
wonderful  book,  it  is  quite  certain,  that  the  un- 
converted will  be  excluded  from  the  bliss  of  the 
heavenly  state.  The  Bible  cannot  be  mistaken, 
nor  perverted  in  its  testimony,  upon  this  matter. 
It  asserts,  in  numerous  places,  that  will  be  pre- 
sently noticed,  the  lost  state  of  impenitent  and 
unconverted  men.     It  represents  them   as  even 


THE    STATE    OF    THE    UNCONVERTED.  35 

now  in  a  lost  state.  It  says  that  they  are  at  this 
moment  condemned ;  that  it  is  not  a  question  to 
be  decided  hereafter,  but  one  that  is  already 
settled;  the  sentence  is  passed,  and  nothing  is 
wanting  but  its  execution. 

Is  your  heart  suitably  impressed,  is  it  alarmed, 
is  it  deeply  affected  even  to  agony,  in  the  con- 
sideration of  this  word — lost  ?  It  means,  in  refer- 
ence to  you,  under  divine  condemnation,  and  in 
immediate  and  moat  imminent  danger  of  eternal 
destruction  !  There  is  really  nothing  that  keeps 
you  back  from  everlasting  perdition  but  the  for- 
t)earance  and  patience  of  God.  Is  it  not  said, 
"Their  foot  shall  shde  in  due  time?"*  Is  not 
your  peril  represented  in  those  words  of  the 
psalmist,  "  Surely  thou  didst  set  them  in  sHppery 
places  ;  thou  castedst  them  down  into  destruction. 
How  are  they  brought  into  desolation,  as  in  a 
moment  '."t  It  is  a  consideration  which  ought  to 
affect  the  heart  of  every  unconverted  person,  that 
he  fully  deserves  the  condemnation  which  the 
divine  word  pronounces  upon  him,  whether  ha 
himself  thinks  so  or  not.  Divine  justice  calls 
aloud  for  his  punishment,  saying,  "Cut  it  down; 
why  cumbereth  it  the  ground  ?"±  If  you  are  un- 
converted, then  you  may  imagine  the  divine  sword 
to  be  brandished  over  your  head,  and  prevented 
from  smiting  you  only  by  sovereign  forbearance, 
such  as  none  but  God  could  or  would  exercise, 
under  the  provocations  of  which  you  have  been 
guiky,  and  the  aggravations  with  which  your  sins 
rj-e  charo-eable.  Even  the  patient,  gentle,  tender- 
hearted Jesus  has  said  concerning  you,  "He  that 
believeth  not  is  condemned  already. "§     To  the 

*  Deui.  xxxii.  35.  f  Ps.  Ixxiii.  18,  19. 

4  Luke  xiii.  7.  §  John  iii.  19. 


do  THE    STATE    OF    THE    UNCONVERTED. 

place  of  punishment,  therefore,  you  are  already 
doomed.  The  sentence  is  fixed,  and  will  be  in- 
flicted unless  you  repent  and  are  converted.  You 
are  even  now  bound  to  that  awful  place,  and  on 
your  way  thither  as  fast  as  the  flight  of  time  can 
bear  you.  It  is  determined  by  the  divine  purpose, 
that  nothing-  shall  stay  the  process  or  arrest  the 
execution  of  that  tremendous  sentence  but  your 
conversion. 

You  could  not  be  thus  under  the  divine  con- 
demnation unless  you  were  an  object  of  God's 
anger ;  and,  surely,  the  persuasion  of  this  is  enough 
to  make  you,  or  any  other  sinner,  weep  and  trem- 
ble !  If  you  realized  the  anger  of  the  Almighty, 
it  might  make  you,  it  ought  to  make  you,  shudder, 
to  think  that  you  have  deserved  it,  and  anxious 
above  all  things  to  have  it  immediately  averted. 
Do  not,  therefore,  imagine,  nor  suflJer  any  sophistry 
of  sin,  Satan,  or  wicked  men  to  persuade  you, 
that  God  is  not  angry  with  you,  or  that  he  will 
not  in  due  time  proceed  to  express  his  anger  by 
punishment.  He  neither  wants  the  right,  nor  the 
power,  nor  the  will  to  destroy  those  who  are  his 
enemies  ;  to  destroy  them  individually  and  seve- 
rally:  but  he  suspends  the  execution  of  his  wrath 
for  their  sake,  and  to  make  them  monuments  of 
his  mercy.  He  waits  to  see  if  they  will  come  to 
their  right  mind,  repent  of  the  evil  they  have 
done,  and  return,  like  contrite  children,  to  their 
oflended,  but  affectionate  Parent. 

It  is  further  to  be  observed,  that  there  is  evil 
enough  in  the  wicked  principles  which  reign  in 
the  hearts  of  all  unconverted  persons,  to  kindle  in 
them,  even  in  this  life,  the  fire  that  never  can  be 
quenched.  If  conscience  were  but  roused  in  you, 
as  it  has  been  in  many  others  not  more  guilty,  to 


THE  STATE  OF  THE  UNCONVERTED.      37 

Sting  and  torment,  and  to  anticipate  what  is  coming- 
upon  you  and  may  not  be  far  ofT,  you  might  feel 
even  now  horrors  which  would  soon  convince 
you  that  hell  is  a  reality.  Thousands  of  sinners 
have  confessed  that  they  needed  no  other  proof  of 
eternal  torments  than  what  they  bore  in  their  own 
bosoms.  What  is  it,  then,  that  keeps  you  from 
feeling  this  beginning  of  eternal  punishment  ?  Un- 
doubtedly you  might  be  made  to  feel  it,  as  well  as 
others.  But  you  have  not  now  in  your  heart  the 
sense  of  his  consuming  wrath,  because  he  is  long- 
suffering,  and  has  not  yet  allowed  your  sin  to  bring 
upon  you  all  its  consequences :  but  he  will  thus  pre- 
vent its  fatal  issue  only  for  a  limited  space.  When 
that  is  expired,  if  the  desirable  end  be  not  an- 
swered, if  you  be  not  converted,  nor  led  to  repent- 
ance by  the  goodness  and  forbearance  of  God,* 
then  he  will  take  off  all  restraint  from  the  power 
both  of  sin  and  of  conscience.  You,  perhaps,  do 
not  at  present  perceive  nor  feel  the  mysterious  and 
mighty  power  there  is  in  sin,  in  conscience,  and 
in  the  law  of  God,  to  turn  your  soul  into  a  fiery 
oven,  or  to  produce  w^ithin  you  indescribable  ter- 
rors. Hence  that  indifference,  insensibility,  and 
unconcern,  which  you  may  have  long  manifested, 
and  over  which  you  are  now  called  to  mourn. 

Sinners  in  general  are  apt  to  presume  upon 
impunity,  because  there  are  no  visible  means  of 
punishment  and  destruction  close  at  hand.  But, 
like  the  sea  under  the  influence  of  a  storm,  how 
soon  may  their  souls  be  lashed  into  a  fearfu. 
tempest  of  terror  and  anguish !  It  affords  no  se- 
curity to  a  sinner,  that  he  is  at  present  in  health, 
at  present  resolute,  at  present  quite  calm,  at  pre- 

*  Rsm.  ii.  4. 
4 


38  THE    STATE    OF    THE    UNCONVERTED. 

sent,  as  he  deems,  safe  and  secure.  He  may  not 
see  the  means  by  which  he  might  be  brought 
speedily  to  judgment.  He  may  not  be  able  to 
detect  the  agency  by  which  the  threatened  ven- 
geance may  be  executed.  But  there  is  a  destruc- 
tion that  walketh  in  darkness  ;  there  are  innume- 
rable ways,  all  unseen  by  us,  and  by  impenitent 
sinners  seldom  suspected,  which  may  in  an  instant 
open  before  them  a  passage  to  perdition,  and 
bring  them,  most  unexpectedly,  to  their  end. 
Unconverted  persons,  in  every  rank  of  life,  walk 
heedless  on  the  brink  of  the  pit,  or  over  a  thin  and 
rotten  covering  which  conceals  its  mouth.  How 
easily  is  he  hurled  over  a  precipice,  who  stands 
close  to  its  verge  !  If  he  stands  blindfold,  or  in 
the  night,  and  move  but  one  step  forward,  he  may 
plunge  himself  into  destruction.  Can  any  wicked 
person,  any  unconverted  sinner,  then,  really  feel 
himself  secure  for  one  moment,  when  he  is  re- 
minded of  that  which  he  dares  not  dispute,  that 
God  possesses  inexhaustible  means  of  bringing  his 
enemies  to  their  end  whenever  it  pleases  him  to  do 
so  ;  that  is,  whenever  he  decides  that  their  proba- 
tion shall  terminate  ?  His  quiver  is  full  of  arrows  ; 
they  fly  unseen  at  noon-day.  The  keenest  sight 
cannot  discern  or  anticipate  them.  The  strongest 
shield  affords  no  defence  against  them.  Of  these 
things  you  can  scarcely  be  unconscious,  and  as- 
suredly you  will  not  attempt  to  dispute  them. 

Know,  then,  unconverted  sinner,  that  God  has 
bent  his  bow,  and  made  ready  his  arroAv  upon  the 
strings.  It  is  directed  against  your  heart.  See ! 
it  points  with  deadly  aim,  with  unerring  cer- 
tainty !  Mark  how  justice  strains  the  bow !  The 
arrow  trembles  upon  the  string,  and  is  ready  to 
fly  forth !     It  is  all  but  gone  !     Yet  justice  looks 


THE    STATE    OF    THE    UNCONVERTED.  39 

for  the  last  assent,  the  divine  signal,  waiting  till 
the  sovereign  arbiter  says.  Strike  now,  and  once 
for  all. — An  impenitent  sinner,  smitten  by  "the 
pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness,"  once  said. 
"I  will  not  die!"  "No,"  said  the  miserable 
comforters  that  stood  around,  "you  shall  not." 
But  convulsions  came  on,  and  the  awful  scene  was 
soon  ended,  without  the  sigh  of  repentance,  or  the 
slightest  symptom  of  contrition.  Take  another 
instance.  A  few  years  ago,  a  gentleman  of  wealth 
in  London,  on  his  dying  bed,  felt  so  strong  an 
aversion  to  dying  then  and  leaving  his  wealth  be- 
hind him,  that  he  hastily  rose  from  his  sick-bed, 
went  out,  and  walked  in  his  yard,  exclaiming  "  he 
would  not  die  !"  But  the  unhappy  man's  strength 
being  speedily  exhausted,  his  affrighted  friends 
carried  him  back  to  his  bed,  where  he  soon  after 
expired,  and  probably  the  sooner  for  his  mad 
effort  to  resist  the  summons.  Alas !  he  knew 
nothing  of  conversion,  and  was  destitute  of  faith 
in  Him  who  promises  eternal  life  to  repenting 
sinners. 

Reader,  then,  let  me  press  upon  your  attention, 
let  me  affectionately  urge  home  upon  your  heart, 
the  most  serious  consideration  of  this  sentiment — 
I  will  even  call  it  this  fact — that  all  those  who  have 
never  passed  through  a  divine  change  of  heart,  a 
true  repentance  and  an  unfeigned  conversion  of  the 
soul  by  the  mighty  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God — 
all  who  were  never  born  again,  and  raised  from  a 
death  in  sin  to  newness  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,  are 
in  the  hands  of  a  righteous  God,  and  are  held 
back  from  the  destruction  they  have  deserved  only 
by  his  sovereign  pleasure.  The  sole  reason  why 
you,  if  still  unconverted,  are  kept  from  the  place 
of  punishment,  is  because  God  "  is  long-suffering 


46 


THE    STATE    OF    THE    UNCONVERTED. 


to  US-ward,  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but 
I'hat  all  should  come  to  repentance."* 

Let  us  now  return  again  to  the  question  with 
which  we  set  out.  Can  any  unconverted  person 
assure  himself  that  he  shall  not  be  eternally  lost  ? 
Can  YOU?  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  that  any  can 
entertain  the  slightest  hope  that  he  shall  escape, 
especially  when  he  feels  that  he  cannot  annul  the 
authority  which  says,  *'  He  that  believeth  not  shall 
be  damned.t  "Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all 
perish. "±  The  unquestionable  truth  of  Christ's 
words  being  admitted,  it  seems  impossible  for  any 
unconverted  person  to  find  a  single  ray  of  hope  or 
shadow  of  a  reason  for  expecting  that  his  eter- 
nal state  should  be  otherwise  than  desperate. 
Whether  he  may  entertain  any  vague  notion  of 
impunity  for  his  sin,  of  mercy  uncovenanted,  of 
the  improbability  of  God's  fulfilling  such  threat- 
enings  as  the  Bible  contains,  of  punishment  here- 
after being  only  temporary,  or  of  forgiveness  at  the 
eleventh  hour  ;  whether  he  entertains  such  notions 
or  not,  it  seems  quite  sufficient  to  say  that  he  has 
no  authority  for  any  of  them  ;  and  even  in  his  own 
view,  the  very  best  or  most  probable  supposition 
of  final  impunity  or  escape  from  punishment,  can 
afford  but  a  forlorn  hope.  All  these  suppositions 
are  mere  spider's  webs,  and  can  supply  no  solid 
ground  of  confidence.  The  sooner  they  are  aban- 
doned, the  better  for  his  soul's  safety  and  peace.  If 
e  prefers  substance  to  shadow,  divine  authority 
to  the  quicksands  of  human  opinion  and  specula- 
tion, he  will  admit  at  once  that  nothing  is  more 
clear  from  the  Bible  than  that  no  unconverted  man 
can  escape  the  wrath  to  come  ;  and  therefore  he, 
while  such,  can  possess  no  evidence,  no,  not  even 

*  2  Pet.  ill.  9.  "t"  Mark  xvi.  16.         \  Luke  xiii.  5 


THE    STATE    OF    THE    UNCONVERTED.  41 

the  shadow  of  evidence,  against  the  statement  that 
he  himself  is  in  a  lost  state,  and,  continuin£T  in  that 
state,  will  be  lost,  Avholly  lost,  irretrievalily  and 
forever  lost! 

All  that  has  been  hitherto  pressed  upon  the 
reader's  attention  in  this  chapter  relates  entirely 
to  the  unconverted.  Their  guilt,  misery  and 
danger  have  been  briefly  pointed  out.  The  writer 
cannot,  however,  pass  from  these  observations 
without  expressing  the  deep  anxiety  he  feels,  lest 
any  one  should  avoid  the  application  of  this  most 
solemn  part  of  the  subject,  through  a  mistaken 
opinion  that,  though  just  in  itself,  it  is  wholly  in- 
applicable to  him.  Some  reader  may,  perhaps,  be 
induced  to  entertain  such  a  thought.  The  very 
representation  already  given  of  the  situation  in 
which  an  unconverted  sinner  stands,  may  possibly 
prove  so  startling  and  alarming,  that  some  readers 
may  perhaps  seek  refuge  from  it  in  the  thought, 
that  they  may  possibly  be  already  converted,  and 
that,  consequently,  what  has  been  said  may,  after 
all,  not  be  applicable  to  their  case.  If  such  a 
thought  should  arise  in  the  mind  of  any  reader, 
he  will  allow  me  affectionately,  but  earnestly,  to 
entreat  him  not  to  come  to  that  conclusion  lightly 
or  hastily.  Perhaps  you  are  not  quite  sure :  you 
may  be  mistaken.  You  surely  are  mistaken  if  you 
are  resting  on  the  pleasant  thought  of  your  re- 
ligious education,  your  speculative  belief  of  the 
gospel,  your  habits  of  attention  to  religious  ordi- 
nances, your  early  discipleship,  your  freedom  from 
grof^s  vice,  or  your  blameless  life.  All  these,  or 
any  one  of  them,  as  a  ground  of  hope  that  you  are 
already  converted,  will  supply  me  with  a  sufficient 
reason  for  entreating  you  to  read  on.  Do  not,  I 
beseech  you,  shut  the  book  at  this  part,  and  say, 
4* 


43  THE    STATE    OF    THE    UNCOxNVERTED. 

"  It  is  for  a  different  class  of  persons,  it  does  not 
belong  to  me."  Perhaps  you  may  find  that  it  is 
expressly  for  you.  If  you  should  be  really  con- 
verted, the  re-examination  of  your  state  can  do 
you  no  injury  whatever,  but  may  do  you  much 
good.  You  will  be  confirmed  by  examining  your 
conversion  to  the  bottom :  you  will  then  only  be 
established  in  your  happy  state.  But  if  there 
should  be  any  room  to  doubt  its  reality,  if  you 
should  not  be  able  to  show  that  you  have  under- 
gone that  conversion  which  Christ  requires,  then 
to  dismiss  the  subject  at  this  point,  to  refuse  now 
to  proceed  in  the  perusal  of  this  book,  may  be  to 
thrust,  or  even  scornfully  to  dash, "  the  cup  of  salva- 
tion" from  you,  just  as  God  was  putting  it  into  your 
hands.  O,  be  entreated  not  to  act  thus !  It  may 
prove  a  subject  of  bitter,  unavailing,  everlasting 
regret.  A  disinclination  to  read  a  treatise  which 
proposes  to  discuss  a  subject  so  interesting  and  im- 
portant to  every  human  being, under  the  supposition 
that  it  is  needless  or  inapplicable,  is  a  strong  pre- 
sumptive evidence  of  your  being  in  an  unconverted 
state,  and  renders  it  the  more  necessary  that  you 
should  be  Avarned  of  your  danger.  The  very  disin- 
clination to  proceed  would  prove  an  av/ful  insensi- 
bility, and  ought  to  excite  in  you  a  fear  that  you 
deeply  need  the  instruction  that  is  here  offered  you. 
I  entreat  you,  therefore,  now  to  resolve  to  go  on, 
and  read  through  this  whole  treatise  :  or  if  you  are 
still  indisposed  to  do  this,  then,  at  least,  as  my 
only  hope  of  doing  you  good,  let  me  entreat  you 
to  turn  to  those  short  parts  which  are  addressed  to 
the  mistaken  and  the  self-sufficient ;  for  in  these 
you  may  find  something  to  convince  you  that 
there  is  the  most  urgent  reason,  in  your  present 
state  of  miiid,  why  you  should  read  the  whole. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    MEANS  WHICH   GOD    HAS    APPOINTED,  AND   ORDI- 
NARILY EMPLOYS,  IN   THE    CONVERSION  OF  SINNEIi-S. 

1.  "Thus  saltli  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  Consider 
your  \vays."*  No  direct  means  of  conversion  can 
be  of  any  avail,  until  your  are  brought  to  serious 
and  deep  reflection  upon  your  present  state.  If 
it  is  true  that  you  are  yet  an  unconverted  per- 
son, this  is  a  condition  which  calls  for  immediate 
consideration,  and  that  of  the  most  solemn  and 
serious  kind,  for  it  is  a  state  of  condemnation. 
You  are  under  a  sentence  of  exclusion  from  God, 
from  heaven  and  eternal  happiness.  If  you  were 
in  a  situation  of  temporal  danger,  danger  to  your 
person,  or  to  your  worldly  interests,  you  would 
reflect  much  upon  it.  If  you  were  threatened 
with  bodily  injur}',  with  alarming  disease,  with 
distress  in  your  circumstances,  you  know  perfectly 
well  that  these  things  would  make  you  very  un- 
easy, deprive  you  of  3'our  rest,  and  prompt  you  to 
reflections  and'  efforts  by  which  the  evil  might  be 
avoided  or  remedied.  You  Avould  not  be  care- 
less or  indifTerent,  if  you  v/ere  told  that  an  assassin 
waited  to  destroy  you  in  the  road  you  had  to 
travel.  You  would  not  be  at  ease,  if  you  felt  that 
you  had  contracted  the  infection  of  some  dreadful 
disease.  You  could  not  enjoy  either  pleasure  or 
food,  if  you  had  reason  to  fear  that  some  fatal  ca- 
tastrophe was  about  to  befall  you  in  jonr  temporal 
afTairs.  And  shall  the  greatest  of  all  evils  bo 
threatened,  threatened  by  an  authority  not  to  be 


43 


'b* 


44  THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION. 

disputed,  and  yet  no  serious  reflections  be  pro- 
duced ?  Will  you  not  begin  to  think  thus  :  I  am 
a  sinner,  a  great  sinner,  and  I  have  never  yet 
'thought  how  I  am  to  escape  that  perdition  which 
God  says  awaits  impenitent  sinners  !"  O,  think 
on  your  state  !  Seriously  reflect  upon  the  misery 
of  being  an  unpardoned  sinner!  Think  deeply  of 
the  inflexible  justice  which  you  can  neither  resist 
nor  escape.  Think  often,  and  meditate  deeply,  on 
the  fact,  that  if  you  should  die  in  an  unconverted 
state,  you  will  be  lost,  forever  lost !  Look  before 
you;  anticipate  consequences,  and  ask,  "Who  can 
dwell  with  everlasting  burnings  ?  What  am  I,  that 
I  can  hope  to  escape  with  impimity,  or  that  I 
should  brave  the  terrors  of  eternal  wrath  and  in- 
finite power  ?"  See  how  clearly  the  divine  indig- 
nation is  revealed;  and  assure  your  heart  how 
certain  and  destructive  will  be  its  visitation,  how 
utterly  hopeless  the  condition  of  those  who  shall 
finally  become  its  victims.  Set  before  your  mind 
this  gloomy  prospect,  and  then  fathom  to  the  very 
bottom  your  sinful  heart,  that  you  may  fully  know 
how  vile  and  wretched  and  helpless  it  is.  Well 
would  it  be,  if  you  could  not  merely  entertain  such 
reflections  now  and  then,  but  resolutely  take  some 
suitable  season,  and  that  without  delay,  to  investi- 
gate your  case,  and  faithfully  write  down  your 
opinion  of  yourself;  only  taking  heed  to  form  your 
opinion  not  under  the  influence  of  pride,  self- 
complacency,  or  worldly  notions  of  the  goodness 
of  your  nature,  but  by  the  searching  light  of  Holy 
Scripture,  and  with  its  denunciations  and  threat- 
enings  against  all  impenitent  sinners  clearly  and 
fully  in  view.  Apply  no  comfort  to  your  soul  on 
account  of  redeeming  qualities,  good  intentions, 
alms-deeds,   abstinences,   or   pious   observances. 


THE    MEWS    OF    CONVERSION.  45 

But  remember  yo-r  very  nature  is  entirely  cor- 
raptcd,  and  your  li .art  dead  in  sin  ;  that  you  are 
a  child  of  wrath,  and  without  any  ability  either  to 
atone  for  sin,  or  appease  the  wrath  of  God.  That, 
besides,  you  are  a  mortal  creature,  and,  because 
you  may  die  soon  and  suddenly,  you  need  an  im- 
mediate salvation,  and  cannot  wait  for  it  till  you 
m.ight  merit  it  by  your  works,  even  if  a  certain 
amount  of  them  could  deserve  it ;  that,  therefore, 
you  can  never  be  happy  or  safe  till  you  find  a 
complete  salvation  ready  to  be  enjoyed,  and 
adapted  to  an  unworthy,  helpless,  guilty  soul, 
that  must  find  all  its  salvation  at  once,  and  in  one 
almighty  Deliverer.  If  you  would  take  pains  to 
review  your  case  in  some  such  way  as  this,  you 
would  find  it  tend  greatly  to  deepen  the  sense  of 
your  real  condition  as  lost,  and  thereby  to  enforce 
upon  you  an  immediate  and  an  earnest  appli- 
cation to  Him  who  is  able  to  save,  and  who  is 
willing  and  waiting  to  become  to  you  all  that  you 
need. 

Moreover,  I  might  enforce  the  great  import- 
ance of  such  self-examination,  by  reminding  you 
of  the  disastrous  effects  of  inconsideration.  It  is 
possible,  if  you  so  resolve,  to  abstain  from  all  such 
thoughts.  You  may,  no  doubt,  if  such  be  your 
determination,  shake  off  or  suppress  all  such  re- 
flections. But  would  it  be  rational  ?  Would  it  be 
wise  ?  Would  it  be  for  your  happiness  ?  If  you 
have  had  so  much  serious  thought  already,  as  to 
have  read  the  volume  thus  far,  how  can  you, 
without  being  wilfully  guilty  of  destroying  your 
own  soul,  resolve  now,  at  this  very  point — '*  I  will 
go  no  further,  I  will  reflect  no  more.  It  only 
makes  me  uneasy  and  wretched.  I  will  try  to 
forget  it.    I  will  not  perplex  myself  with  these  dis- 


46  THE   MEANS   OF   CONVERSION. 

tressing  considerations ;  for  if  I  do,  I  foresee  I  shall 
get  worse,  become  melancholy,  or  sink  into  de- 
spair. I  will  try  to  rid  myself  of  such  thoughts, 
by  mingling  in  worldly  amusements."  But  gay 
amusements  will  not  heal  a  wounded  heart,  nor 
effectually  quiet  an  accusing  conscience.  A  French 
physician  was  once  consulted  by  a  person  who  re- 
presented himself  as  subject  to  the  most  gloomy 
fits  of  melancholy.  The  physician  advised  his  pa- 
tient to  mix  in  scenes  of  gayety,  and  particularly 
to  frequent  the  Italian  theatre ;  and  added,  "  If 
Carlini  (a  most  famous  comic  performer)  does  not 
dispel  your  gloomy  complaint,  your  case  must  be 
desperate  indeed."  The  reply  of  the  patient  is 
worthy  the  attention  of  those  who  frequent  such 
places  in  search  of  happiness,  as  it  shows  the  utter 
emptiness  and  insufficiency  of  their  amusements. 
"Alas  !  sir,"  said  the  patient,  "  I  am  Carlini ;  and 
while  I  divert  all  Paris  with  mirth,  and  make  them 
almost  die  with  laughter,  I  myself  am  dying  with 
melancholy  and  chagrin."  The  utter  folly  of  resort- 
ing to  such  amusements  to  dissipate  serious  thought 
has  been  proved  by  thousands.  Cardinal  Riche- 
lieu, after  he  had  given  law  to  all  Europe  for  many 
years,  acknowledged  the  unhappy  state  of  his 
mind  to  a  friend.  When  he  was  asked  why  he 
Vv'as  so  sad,  he  replied, "  The  soul  is  a  serious  thing ; 
it  must  either  be  sad  here,  or  be  sad  forever." 
Now  I  forewarn  you  particularly  as  to  this  matter, 
and  at  this  point.  You  may  succeed,  if  you  try  to 
escape  from  these  troublesome  reflections,  but  it 
will  only  be  for  a  time ;  or  if  that  time  should  be 
all  the  rest  of  your  life,  you  will  find  that  you 
have  effected  nothing  for  your  own  welfare  and 
happiness,  but,  on  the  contrary,  been  the  greatest 
enemy  to  your  own  real  interest.    You  would  not 


THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSIOX.  47 

admire  the  mariner  who,  on  the  first  appearance 
of  a  storm,  should  make  no  preparation  to  meet 
it.  You  would  not  commend  that  person  who,  on 
being  awakened  in  the  night  by  the  cry  of  fire, 
should  still  close  his  eyes  and  recHne  again  for 
sleep,  without  an  effort  to  escape  !  But  you  are 
called  to  awake  from  your  sleep  of  sin,  to  "  arise 
from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  you  light."* 
You  may  perhaps  just  hear  the  warning,  and  re- 
sign yourself  again  to  fatal  lethargy  and  careless- 
ness ;  and  what  will  be  the  result  ?  I  tremble  to 
write  it !  O,  may  you  shudder  and  tremble  to 
read  it !  You  may  perish,  and  perish  forever,  be- 
cause you  here  resolve  to  think,  or  read,  or  reflect 
no  more  upon  this  subject.  It  may  give  you  pain; 
but  better  that  it  should,  if  it  may  lead  to  your  con- 
version and  salvation,  than  that  you  should  go  on 
till  you  perish,  and  find,  in  the  pangs  of  eternal 
perdition,  the  consequences  of  not  considering 
your  danger,  when  you  might  have  escaped  it ; 
the  consequences  of  not  inquiring  into  your  ow^n 
real  case,  when  you  might  have  found  a  divine 
physician  waiting  to  effect  a  cure. 

Be  entreated  then  to  consider  your  case.  Un- 
used as  you  may  be  to  reflection  and  meditation, 
especially  of  this  kind,  yet  your  case  urgently  de- 
mands them;  and  without  them  there  is  no  hope. 
All  other  means  will  be  unavailing,  if  you  will  not 
reflect  upon  the  present  state  of  your  soul.  Till 
you  are  brought  to  examine  and  think  seriously 
and  deeply,  there  is  no  hope  for  you ;  there  can 
be  nothing  done ;  you  cannot  be  saved. 

2.  The  word  of  God  is  the  great  means  of  con- 
version.   "  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  convert- 

•  Eph.  V.  14. 


48  THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION. 

ing  the  soul.'"^^  "Faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and 
hearing  by  the  word  of  God."t  "  Is  not  my  word 
like  as  a  fire  ?  saith  the  Lord,  and  like  a  hammer 
that  breaketh  the  rock  in  pieces  V^l  Before  I  pro- 
ceed to  point  out  to  you  the  testimony  of  God  con- 
cerning the  way  of  salvation,  and  to  press  upon  you 
the  invitations  and  promises  of  the  Divine  word, 
it  seems  important  to  remind  you  of  the  necessity 
of  concentrating  your  attention  upon  the  one  sub- 
ject, and  that  the  most  momentous  which  can  en- 
gage your  thoughts.  You  are  directed  to  the 
book  of  God,  to  seek  instruction  upon  this  one 
subject — how  you  are  to  be  saved.  It  is  to  aiford 
you  the  means  of  possessing  exact  knowledge  upon 
this  point,  that  the  Bible  has  been  written  ;  and  if 
you  search  not  the  Scriptures  v/ith  a  desire  to  at- 
tain this  knowledge,  if  you  seek  not  this  pearl  of 
great  price,  this  treasure  hid  in  a  field,  what- 
ever else  you  may  have  learned  from  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, you  will  have  read  in  vain,  as  to  your  soul's 
real  advantage.  Think,  therefore,  what  it  is  you 
now  wish  to  find ;  what  is  essential  to  your  peace 
of  mind,  to  your  preparation  for  death,  judgment, 
and  eternity.  Let  nothing  divert  your  attention 
from  the  one  great  and  absorbing  subject — your 
salvation.  You  come  to  the  word  of  God  for  that, 
and  therefore,  in  reading  it,  you  must  not  be  satis- 
f.ed  with  curious  information  of  ancient  times  ; 
v/ith  the  discovery  of  things  deep  and  high,  beau- 
titul  and  entertaining,  wonderful  and  gratifying — 
things  that  may  enlarge  your  understanding,  aug- 
ment your  stock  of  knowledge,  delight  your  imagi- 
nation, improve  your  practical  wisdom;  but  you 
must  read  it  as  the  law  of  the  Lord,  perfect,  and 

*  Ps.  xix.  7.  f  Rom.  x.  17.  t  Jer.  i  xiii.  29. 


THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION.  49 

converting-  the  soul;  the  proclamation  of  divine 
mercy,  addressed  to  you  as  a  rebel;  the  charter  of 
all  your  hopes.  You  must  read  it,  till  you  find  its 
light  penetrating  the  dark  chamber  of  your  heart — 
revealing  the  mystery  of  iniquity  that  works  there ; 
read  it,  till  it  makes  you  feel  that  you  are  both 
guilty  and  condemned ;  read  it,  till  it  makes  you 
despair  of  escaping  the  wrath  of  God,  or  satisfyin£- 
his  justice  for  your  past  sins ;  read  it,  till  you  are 
penetrated  with  holy  awe,  under  a  sense  of  the  di- 
vine purity  and  righteousness — until  you  tremble 
before  its  resistless  truth  and  high  authority,  as  3'ou 
would  before  the  presence  of  the  eternal  Judge. 
In  short,  you  will  have  read  the  word  of  God  to 
no  purpose,  unless  it  has  made  you  shudder  and 
shrink  at  the  view  of  your  sinful  and  lost  condition. 
It  is  designed  for  your  conviction  and  conversion: 
if  you  have  not  found  these  there,  you  have  read 
it  in  vain ;  and  if  ever  you  are  converted,  remember 
it  must  be  by  this  word  of  God.  But  you  are  to 
read  it  not  only  for  conviction ;  you  must  search 
there  for  those  views  of  the  Saviour  which  will 
suit  your  case,  and  inspire  a  hope  of  mercy.  Jesus 
Christ,  in  his  divine  character,  his  infinite  ability, 
his  perfect  atonement  for  sin,  the  efficacy  of  his 
mediation,  his  readiness  to  save  repenting  sinners, 
must  be  sought  for  by  you  in  the  sacred  book. 
The  object  for  which  it  has  been  written  and  pre- 
served in  the  world,  is  to  proclaim  salvation  unto 
sinners  ;  and  you  must  find  salvation  in  those  sa 
cred  pages,  salvation  through  the  divine  Saviour 
there  set  forth,  or  you  will  remain  in  an  uncon- 
verted and  lost  state.  Whatever  you  hear  from 
Christian  ministers,  or  read  in  good  books,  con- 
cerning your  salvation  ;  or  whatever  alarms,  con- 
victions, and  inquiries  may  be  excited  in  your  mind 
5 


50  THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION. 

by  these  ;  nothing  short  of  the  authority  of  God  in 
the  Bible  must  be  laid  as  the  basis  of  your  faith 
and  hope.  Let  all  other  helps,  all  other  prompters, 
all  other  voices,  point  you  to  this  sufficient  and 
infallible  guide.  If  they  are  rendered  serviceable 
to  you  in  the  matter  of  your  conversion,  it  must 
be  through  the  medium  of  that  safe  and  salutary 
advice,  "  Search  the  Scriptures ;  for  in  them  ye 
think  ye  have  eternal  life :  and  they  are  they  which 
testify  of  me."*  Every  other  book  or  tract,  friend 
or  minister,  must  be  as  a  finger-post  pointing  to  the 
Scripture,  and  saying,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God, 
which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. "t  There 
you  must  find,  and  there  you  will  find,  if  you 
search  for  him,  a  divine  deliverer  from  the  wrath 
of  God,  an  atoning  sacrifice  for  all  your  sins,  and 
a  Mediator  whose  intercession  you  must  engage 
on  your  behalf.  This  is  the  discovery  essential  to 
your  conversion  and  peace  of  mind.  This  is  the 
Rock  on  which  you  must  build  your  hope,  and 
against  which  no  storms  or  tempests  will  be  able 
to  prevail. 

Further,  as  to  the  frame  of  mind  with  which 
you  are  to  employ  this  means  of  your  conversion. 
You  must  be  deeply  impressed  with  the  duty  of 
implicitly  believing  in  the  grace  of  that  Saviour 
whom  the  Bible  presents  to  you.  The  divine 
ability,  the  atoning  blood,  and  perfect  righteous- 
ness of  Christ  are  fully  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures, 
that  you  may  cordially  receive  them,  and  make 
them  the  sole  foundation  of  your  hope.  If  you 
have  any  doubts  of  the  authority  of  God's  word, 
then  these  must  first  be  removed.  For  you  can- 
not come  to  the  Bible,  to  discover  your  salvation  in 


»  John  V.  39.  I  John  i.  29. 


THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION.  51 

the  Saviour  it  exhibits,  unless  you  are  thoroug^hly 
convinced  that  it  is  the  word  of  God,  and  that 
the  Saviour  it  exhibits  is  able  to  save  your  soul. 
But  supposing,  as  I  have  yet  supposed  all  along, 
that  you  are  no  infidel,  no  denier  of  this  divine 
,  book,  no  speculator  nor  quibbler,  then  I  simply 
!  urge  upon  you  here  the  duty  of  opening  the  Bible 
I  with  the  firm  conviction  upon  your  mind — "  This  is 
i  the  word  of  God;  salvation  is  here;  my  Saviour 
is  here  set  forth  ;  and  I  must  proceed  to  search  in 
this  book  for  those  truths  which  are  to  reach  my 
case,  those  promises  that  are  to  relieve  m}'-  fears, 
and  become  the  basis  of  all  my  hope  of  salvation. 
Here  is  divine  light  to  instruct  my  mind,  divine 
love  to  cheer  my  heart,  divine  mercy  to  forgive 
my  sin,  divine  grace  to  renew  my  soul.  If  I  can 
but  find  and  appropriate  these  to  myself,  I  shall  be 
converted,  I  shall  be  blessed,  and  become  eternally 
happy  in  defiance  of  all  my  sin  and  guilt,  weak- 
ness and  misery.  I  will,  therefore,  come  to  this 
divine  volume,  as  many  sick,  or  blind,  or  lame, 
came  to  the  Saviour,  saying,  'Lord,  if  thou  wilt, 
thou  canst  make  me  clean;'*  'Jesus,  thou  Son  of 
David,  have  mercy  on  me  ;'t  'Lord,  I  believe; 
help  thou  mine  unbelief.'  "i  To  quicken  your 
faith  in  his  ability,  it  will  be  of  importance  to  im- 
press upon  your  mind,  how  wicked  and  ungrate- 
ful it  would  be  in  you  to  harbour  one  unbelieving 
thought  of  his  power  or  his  willingness  to  save, 
not  men  in  general,  but  you  in  particular.  Since 
his  promise  of  salvation  refers  to  all  who  both 
need  it  and  are  willing  to  accept  it,  and  contains  no 
exception  against  any  but  the  unbeliever  and  the 
impenitent,  you  can  have  no  pretence  for  sup- 

•  Matt  viii.  2.  f  Mark  x.  47.  +  Mark  ix.  24. 


r/i  THE    MEANS   OF    CONVERSIOX. 

posing  yourself  excluded  from  that  general  pro- 
clamation of  mercy,  which  is  ratified  by  the  oath 
of  God,  and  sealed  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  It  were 
an  impious  reflection  upon  the  wisdom  and  mercy 
of  God,  to  suppose  that  he  could  have  promised 
forgiveness  to  all  who  repent,  and  yet  have  in- 
tended to  reject  any  one  that  might  thus  apply 
unto  him.  The  following  passages  may  satisfy 
you  upon  this  matter.  They  ought  to  remove  all 
hesitation,  and  they  will,  if  you  are  in  earnest,  and 
read  them  aright,  that  is,  with  a  just  view  of  their 
design ;  for  undoubtedly  they  were  intended  for 
you,  and  such  as  you.  "Come  now,  and  let  us 
reason  together,  saith  the  Lord  :  though  your  sins 
be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow ; 
though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as 
wool."*  "  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye 
to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  money ;  come 
ye,  buy,  and  eat ;  yea,  come,  buy  wine  and  milk 
without  money  and  without  price."!  "Let  the 
wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man 
his  thoughts:  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord, 
and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him';  and  to  our 
God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon. "j  "Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  1  will  give  you  rest,"§  "Jesus  stood  and 
cried,  saying,  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto 
me,  and  drink. "i|  "  The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say, 
Come.  And  let  him  that  heareth  say.  Come. 
And  let  him  that  is  athirst  come.  And  whosoever 
will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely."^ 
"  Wherefore  he  is  able  also  to  save  them  to  the 
uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he 


*  Isa.  i.  18.  f  Isa.  Iv.  1.  k  Isa.  Iv.  7. 

§  Matt.  xi.  28.  \  John  vii.  37.  \  Rev.  xxii.  17. 


THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION.  53 

ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them."* 
"The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin.  If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we 
deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us.  If 
we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful  and  just  to  for- 
give us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  un- 
righteousness."t  "All  manner  of  sin  and  blas- 
phemy shall  be  forgiven  unto  men."+  "  There  is 
forgiveness  with  thee,  that  thou  mayest  be 
feared. "§  "  Through  this  man  is  preached  unto 
you  the  forgiveness  of  sins."||  "  In  whom  we  have 
redemption  through  his  blood,  even  the  forgiveness 
of  sins."^  "  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy 
of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners  ;  of  whom  I  am  chief.  How- 
beit  for  this  cause  I  obtained  mercy,  that  in  me 
first  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth  all  long-suffer- 
ing, for  a  pattern  to  them  which  should  hereafter 
believe  on  him  to  life  everlasting."** 

These  passages  may  suffice  as  specimens;  but 
if  you  have  an  earnest  desire  to  find  more,  you 
have  only  to  open  the  book,  and  gather  them  in 
abundance  for  yourself. 

3.  Prayer  is  a  means  which  God  has  appointed, 
and  which  you  can  employ.  It  is  the  direct  ap- 
plication of  your  soul  to  the  God  of  mercy  and 
salvation.  This  is  a  privilege  which  he  allows, 
though  you  are  a  rebellious  and  sinful  creature  ; 
but  it  is  a  privilege  accompanied  with  two  abso- 
lute and  universal  conditions.  The  first  is,  that 
you  shall  pray  as  a  guilty  sinner  ;  as  one  who  has 
utterly  forfeited    all    claim  and   right,  and  who 

*  Heb.  vii.  25.         f  1  John  i.  7—9.  t  Matt.  xii.  31. 

§  Ps.  cxxx.  4.  1!  Acts  xiii.  38.  ^  Col.  i.  14. 

**  1  Tim.  i.  If),  16. 


54 


THE    MEANS   OF    CONVERSION. 


casts  himself  wholly  upon  the  sovereign  mercy 
of  the  offended  Creator.  The  principal  topics 
of  prayer,  in  connection  with  the  present  import- 
ant subject,  should  be,  (1.)  The  confession  of  your 
sorrow  on  account  of  sins,  so  many  and  aggravated 
that  you  can  never  fully  express  them.  (2.)  You 
ought  to  desire  of  God  a  still  deeper  and  more 
just  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin,  as  committed  against 
the  purity,  majesty,  justice  and  goodness  of  God. 
(3.)  Your  most  earnest  entreaties  should  be  put  up 
for  strength  in  your  soul  to  forsake  all  sin,  and  to 
render  it  increasingly  hateful  and  loathsome  to 
your  iieart. 

Another  condition  essential  to  the  acceptance 
of  your  prayer,  is,  that  you  should  come  to  God 
in  the  name,  and  only  in  the  name,  of  Jesus  Christ 
his  beloved  Son.  It  is  certain,  for  it  is  revealed 
to  us,  that  no  man  cometh  to  God  but  by  Christ 
Jesus  ;*  and  that  no  prayer  of  ours  can  ever  be 
heard  with  acceptance,  that  is  not  offered  to  God 
through  this  medium.  In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ 
you  may  ask  for  the  divine  gift  of  faith,  by  which 
you  will  be  enabled  to  lay  hold  upon  the  atoning 
sacrifice  ;  for  hope,  as  the  anchor  of  your  soul; 
for  humility,  submission,  peace  of  mind,  and  joy 
in  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  I  am  the  way,"  said  our 
divine  Teacher  and  Saviour.  And  the  apostle 
Paul  declares,  "  There  is  one  mediator,"  intending 
to  imply  that  there  is  no  other,  "  between  God  and 
men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus. "t 

These  being  the  essential  conditions  on  which 
you  are  to  avail  yourself  of  the  privilege  of 
prayer,  I  will  now  proceed  to  point  out  more  fully 
what  should  be  the  special  characteristics  of  such 


*  John  xiv.  6.  -j-  1  Tim.  ii.  5. 


THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION.  5a 

prayer  as  should  be  offered  by  one  wishing-  for 
converting  grace.  It  must,  then,  be  particuhirly 
directed  to  a  full  and  frank  confession  of  your  sin. 
Your  own  reason  will  convince  you,  that  God  is 
perfectly  acquainted  with  your  numerous  and  ag- 
gravated transgressions,  that  his  eye  has  watched 
and  marked  all  the  depraved  workings  of  your 
heart  and  actions  of  your  life.  It  is,  therefore, 
but  reasonable  that  you  should  confess  your  sins 
fully  to  him,  who  knows  them,  and  who  requires 
the  confession  of  them,  not  to  inform  him,  but  to 
prove  your  own  true  conviction  of  your  guilt, 
and  to  affect  your  own  heart  with  a  deeper  sense 
of  its  pollution  and  misery.  Any  other  kind  of 
confession  but  this  will  be  unavailing.  You  will 
but  defeat  your  own  object  in  praying  at  all,  if 
you  do  not  make  the  fullest,  frankest,  and  most 
humble  acknowledgment  of  sin.  It  will  serve 
no  purpose  but  the  aggravation  of  your  guilt,  to 
conceal  or  palliate  any  thing.  There  must  be  no 
extenuation,  no  concealment ;  but  all  must  be  fully 
confessed,  and  truly,  sincerely,  and  penitently  de- 
plored by  you.  Be  neither  ashamed  nor  afraid  to 
confess  your  sins  by  name  to  him  that  secth  in 
secret :  let  their  multitude,  as  the  sands  on  the  sea 
shore,  be  told  ;  let  their  aggravation  be  felt ;  let 
their  enormity  be  deplored — all,  all  will  fall  short 
of  the  reality.  You  never  can  enough  consider, 
enough  regret,  enough  confess  and  repent  of  your 
sins.  They  are,  and  they  ought  to  be  felt  as  crimes 
against  God  and  your  own  soul ;  crimes  w^hich 
no  tears,  no  repentance,  no  sufferings  of  yours  can 
ever  wash  away. 

Remember,  also,  that  you  have  no  plea,  no  argu- 
ment, no  name  to  mention,  why  God  should  for- 
give your  sins,  but  that  name,  that  plea,  which 


50  THE    MEANS   OF    CONVERSION. 

God  has  himself  furnished.  The  merit  of  Christ 
is  to  be  your  only  plea,  and  by  this  alone  can  you 
urge  your  suit  before  God.  Therefore,  this  must 
become  the  foundation  of  your  hope,  the  great 
consideration  which  you  are  allowed  to  mention, 
because  God,  for  Christ's  sake  only,  forgives  sin. 
His  precious  blood  is  everywhere  in  the  Bible  set 
forth  as  afibrding  hope  to  the  guilty,  that  they 
shall  be  forgiven  and  accepted.  He  says,  "  Look 
unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved:"  "Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God:"  "Christ  sufiered  for  sins,  the  just  for 
the  unjust :"  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his 
Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."*  It  is  not  so  much 
my  object,  in  this  place,  to  explain  the  great  doc- 
trine of  the  Christian  atonement,  as  to  impress 
upon  your  mind  the  important  fact,  that  you  will 
find  true  peace  w4th  God  by  pleading  it,  and  only 
by  pleading  it ;  for  all  other  efforts  of  your  desire, 
or  hope,  or  faith,  or  repentance,  will  be  unavailing 
for  your  acceptance,  till  you  say,  with  the  fervour 
of  true  penitence,  "  Behold,  O  God,  our  shield, 
and  look  upon  the  face  of  thine  anointed. "t 

"  Consider  all  the  dying  pains 
That  my  Redeemer  felt; 
And  let  his  blood  wash  out  my  stains, 
And  answer  for  my  guilt." 

In  connection  with  your  Saviour's  atonement 
for  sin,  it  is  necessary  you  should  devoutly  confide 
in  the  efficacy  of  his  mediation.  The  doctrine  is 
taught  you  in  the  Bible,  that  "  he  ever  livcth  to 
make  intercession. "|  That  he  pleads  for  those 
who  come  to  God  in  his  name,  and  condescend- 
ingly takes  up  their  suit,  and  says,  "Father,  for- 
give them."§     He  has  "  entered  into  heaven,  now 

•  Isa.  xlv.  22;  John  i  29 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  18;  1  John  i.  7. 
f  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  9.      t  Heb.  vii.  25.      §  Luke  xxiii.  34. 


THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION.  57 

to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us," "'  as  a 
great  High  Priest,  who  has  entered  into  the  hea- 
venly sanctuary  with  his  own  blood.  Upon  this 
subject,  if  you  are  not  already  well-informed,  you 
should  read  what  is  recorded  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  chap.  ii.  10 — 18  ;  iv.  14 — 16  ;  the  whole 
of  chap.  v.  and  viii.  Until  you  realize  the  great 
doctrine  of  Christ's  mediation,  set  forth  in  these 
chapters,  and  implore  the  mercy  of  Christ,  and  his 
gracious,  all-prevailing  intercession,  your  prayers 
cannot  come  up  with  acceptance.  We  wish  you 
to  feel  that  there  is  no  one  beside  Christ  to  inter- 
cede for  you  ;  and  that  this  office  he  has  willingly 
undertaken,  and  will  faithfully  perform.  Beseech 
him  to  raise  your  mind  to  a  full  assurance  of  his 
successful  interposition.  If  you  come  to  God 
only  by  him,  making  mention  of  his  name,  and  of 
his  only,  then  you  will  be  accepted  in  the  Beloved. 

"  Give  him,  my  soul,  thy  cause  to  plead, 
'  Nor  doubt  the  Father's  grace." 

Address  him  in  language  like  this : — "  O  blessed 
Saviour,  by  thy  tender  love,  and  by  the  riches  of 
thy  mercy  to  sinners,  I  beseech  thee,  give  me  thy 
grace,  that  I  may  grieve  for  my  sins,  and  trust  in 
thy  atonement  for  their  pardon.  Soften  this  stony 
heart ;  enlighten  this  dark  mind  ;  subdue  my  flesh 
to  the  dictates  of  thy  Spirit ;  subject  my  reason  to 
the  authority  of  thy  word  ;  and  let  my  joy  be 
found  in  thy  forgiving  love.  Pour  into  my  heart 
the  precious  streams  of  thy  grace  ;  speak  peace 
and  pardon  to  my  guilty  conscience,  and  leave  me 
not  to  my  unbelief,  my  guilt,  my  darkness.  Let 
thy  precious  blood  cleanse  me  from  all  my  sin 
and  heal  all  my  wounds.  Then  will  I  rejoice 
and  bless  thy  name  for  evermore." 

*  Heb.  ix.  24. 


58  THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION. 

There  is  one  more  important  consideration,  and 
but  one  more,  in  reference  to  prayer,  which  I  will 
here  lay  before  you.  This,  however,  it  is  essen- 
tial to  press  upon  your  attention.  Your  prayers 
must  contain  the  earnest  expression  of  your  de- 
pendence upon  the  influence  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit,  to  work  in  your  mind  all  the  requisite  dis- 
positions. For  you  will  probably  feel,  even  in  the 
duty  of  prayer,  considerable  distrust  and  uncer- 
tainty, whether  you  possess  any  right  dispositions, 
or  whether  you  have  at  all  experienced  divine 
grace.  Suspicions  of  your  own  heart  will  arise  ; 
and  Satan  will  endeavour  either  to  prevent  you 
from  feeling  aright,  or  to  persuade  you,  that  what- 
ever your  feelings  have  been,  they  are  of  no  im- 
portance, because  they  are  not  gracious  ;  or  that 
they  are  merely  the  effect  of  fear,  and  not  of  love 
and  true  penitence  ;  and  will,  therefore,  prove 
unacceptable  to  God.  Let  me  entreat  you,  there- 
fore, to  depend  upon,  and  to  implore,  the  aid  of 
God's  Spirit,  both  to  excite  right  feelings,  to  give 
them  power  and  strength  in  your  heart,  and  to 
render  them  permanent.  For  it  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  divine  word,  that  you  can  do  nothing  ef- 
fectually of  yourself;  that  no  saving  change  can 
take  place  without  God's  assistance ;  and  that 
every  good  purpose,  good  feeling,  and  right 
prayer,  must  be  wrought  in  you  by  the  operation 
of  the  divine  Spirit.  You  will,  perhaps,  distress- 
'ngly  feel  the  weakness  of  your  own  heart,  and 
will  be  left  to  experience  the  inefficiency  of  all 
purposes  made  in  your  own  strength,  unless  He 
strengthens  you  with  his  strength  in  your  soul, 
and  enables  you  both  to  will  and  to  do  according 
to  his  good  pleasure.  Therefore,  let  this  truth  be 
ever  present  to  your  mind  in  all  your  prayers, 


THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION.  59 

that  you  need  his  Spirit,  and  can  do  nothing  right 
without  his  aid.  This  is  to  be  sought  fervently 
and  constantly.  With  a  believing,  importunate 
spirit,  you  are  to  implore  this  precious  gift,  this 
fruit  of  Christ's  mediation,  that  the  Spirit  may 
help  your  infirmities,  and  work  in  you  all  holy, 
pious,  and  devout  dispositions,  and  the  work  of 
faith  with  power.  Your  prayers  upon  this  sub- 
ject are  especially  to  be  prompted  by  the  "  ex- 
ceeding great  and  precious  promises"  of  the 
Spirit's  aid:  "Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you; 
seek,  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be 
opened  unto  you."'^  "If  ye  then,  being  evil, 
know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  year  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  askhim?"t  Is  this 
precious,  all-important  gift  to  be  obtained  by 
asking  ?  How,  then,  can  one  in  your  circum- 
stances abstain  from  asking,  or  forget  to  ask,  or 
refuse  to  ask?  since,  without  it,  your  heart  can- 
not be  thoroughly  and  savingly  turned  to  God. 

4.  Another  means  which  you  are  to  employ,  if 
you  desire  to  be  converted,  is,  hearing  the  gospel 
preached.  This  is  a  divine  appointment  for  the 
express  purpose  of  converting  sinners.  God  has 
sent  his  ministers  to  preach  his  gospel  to  every 
creature  :  and  if  it  is  their  duty  to  preach,  it  is  a 
corresponding  duty  on  your  part  to  hear;  to  hear 
it  constantly,  seriously,  attentively,  and  with  de- 
vout prayer  that  it  may  convince  and  convert  3"ou. 
But  how  should  you  either  believe  or  be  saved,  if 
you  do  not  hear  the  gospel  with  immediate  self- 
application?  "Faith  Cometh  by  hearing.":!: 
Christ  has  commanded  his  ministers  to  preach 

*  Luke  xi.  9.  f  Luke  xi.  13.  4  Rom  x.  17. 


60  THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION. 

the  gospel  to  every  creature.  This  is  the  public 
announcement  of  God's  mercy,  of  Christ's  love, 
of  the  fulness,  freeness,  and  sufficiency  of  the 
promised  pardon.  Can  you  neglect  it  now  with- 
out neglecting  your  own  interests,  without  injur- 
ing your  own  souls  ?  You  have  abundant  oppor- 
tunities of  hearing  God's  testimony  of  Christ  by 
the  gospel.  You  can  scarcely  be  placed  in  any 
part  of  the  land  but  it  is  within  your  reach.  Per- 
haps you  have  even  a  superabundance  ;  you  have  a 
choice  out  of  many  faithful  preachers.  Take  heed, 
then,  beth  of  hearing  with  an  unbelieving  heart, 
and  with  a  reserve  for  a  future  day  of  salvation. 
Listen  to  that  minister  who  most  faithfully  reproves 
sin,  most  affectionately  warns  you  of  the  danger 
of  continuing  in  impenitence,  and  most  scrip- 
turally  sets  forth  the  Saviour,  in  his  divine  ability, 
his  full  redemption,  liis  love  to  souls,  and  his 
grace  suflfcient  for  all.  I  conceive  that  t  need 
not  enlarge  further  upon  this  topic.  Surely,  if 
you  are  desirous  of  being  converted,  you  will 
readily  find  a  minister  to  direct  you  to  Christ. 
Only  hear  for  salvation,  and,  looking  up  to  God 
for  his  blessing,  you  will  not  hear  in  vain. 

5.  And,  lastly,  I  notice  under  one  general  ob- 
servation here,  there  are  miscellaneous  means 
which  you  may  use,  and  which,  though  important, 
can  receive  only  a  short  notice  in  this  brief  trea- 
tise. They  are  such  as  these:  Next  to  your 
Bible,  consult  such  books  as  are  appropriate  to 
your  state  of  mind,  and  in  which  you  may  find 
the  truth  of  the  gospel  enforced  in  a  manner 
appropriate  to  your  case.  At  the  same  time, 
avoid  opening  any  book  that  might  divert  your 
mind  from  the  great  subject  of  your  salvation. 
Even  though  such  works  might  be  innocent,  in- 


THE    MEANS    OF    CONVERSION.  61 

structive,  and  proper  enough  at  another  time ; 
yet,  if  you  feel  concern  for  your  soul,  you  must 
pursue  the  subject  with  an  ardour  not  to  be 
quenched  ;  with  a  daily  thirst  to  find  the  water  of 
life.  You  must  make  this  the  great  business, 
which  is  to  be  pursued  with  the  utmost  avidity, 
with  the  deepest  anxiety  ;  and  till  you  find  Christ 
formed  in  your  heart  the  hope  of  glory,  you  ought 
not  to  rest,  nor  allow  any  thing  to  divert  your 
mind  from  the  one  great  object. 

Let  me  add,  God  has  placed  within  your  reach 
another  important  means  of  assisting  you,  in  the 
advice  and  encouragement  of  Christian  friends,  or 
ministers.  Some  such,  I  am  to  suppose,  you  may 
find  near  you ;  and  I  think  I  may  venture  to  say, 
you  will  find  them  glad  to  advise  you  on  your 
soul's  concerns. 

Moreover,  it  is  important  to  avoid  all  company 
of  an  opposite  kind,  especially  that  of  the  thought- 
less, the  gay,  or  the  wicked.  Flee  from  such,  as 
from  your  worst  foes.  Their  levity  may  be  in- 
fectious ;  their  examples  may  betray  your  soul 
into  perdition.  Avoid,  too,  whatever  engage- 
ments, or  amusements,  or  recreations  might  divert 
your  mind  from  the  one  subject  which  you  ouo;ht 
to  have  ever  before  you.  The  salvation  of  your 
soul  should  be  your  earnest,  supreme,  and  con- 
stant pursuit. 

Remember,  too,  how  important  are  fortitude 
and  resolution  under  the  frown  or  scorn  of  frivo 
lous  and  gay  associates.  You  must  brace  up  your 
purpose  to  withstand  all  such  assaults,  for  you 
may  be  exposed  to  severe  trials  in  these  respects. 
Your  former  worldly  friends  will  not  part  with 
you  without  making  you  feel  their  contempt  for 
your  new  and  strange  notions.  But  you  have  to 
6 


62  THE    MEANS   OF    CONVERSION. 

consider  and  determine  m  your  conscience,  which 
is  easiest  to  be  borne,  the  scorn  of  your  fellow- 
men,  or  the  just  and  everlasting  displeasure  of 
God.  Consider,  I  entreat  you,  who  has  said, 
"  The  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  M'ith 
God."*  "He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more 
than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me."t  "  Whosoever 
therefore  shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  of  my 
words  in  this  adulterous  and  sinful  generation  ; 
of  him  also  shall  the  Son  of  man  be  ashamed, 
when  he  cometh  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  with 
the  holy  angels. "J  Some  have  not  been  steady 
in  their  resolution,  nor  firm  against  worldly 
snares.  Two  young  men,  deeply  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  salvation  and  the  value 
of  their  souls,  commenced  a  religious  course 
together.  For  some  time  they  kept  their  vows, 
and  steadily  pursued  the  great  object  both  pro- 
fessed to  have  in  view.  But  all  at  once  a  change 
took  place  in  the  conduct  of  one  of  them.  He 
began  to  neglect  public  worship,  and  became  shy 
of  his  pious  companion.  Shortly  after,  the  back- 
slider was  invited  to  attend  a  fashionable  ball,  and 
assented  to  the  proposal.  His  companion  was 
greatly  distressed  at  the  inteUigence,  but  still  felt 
firmly  resolved,  for  his  own  part,  to  seek  the  sal- 
vation of  his  soul,  or  perish  with  the  publican's 
prayer  upon  his  lips.  Upon  receiving  the  intel- 
ligence that  his  friend  was  going  to  the  ball,  he 
waited  upon  him,  and,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  en- 
deavoured to  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose,  in- 
viting him  to  go  that  same  evening  to  a  meeting 
that  was  to  be  held  for  prayer.  But  he  pleaded  in 
vain.     On  parting,  he  said  to  his  pious  companion, 

*  James  iv.  4.         f  Matt.  x.  37.         4  Mark  viii.  38. 


POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR   CONVERSION'.  63 

that  he  must  not  give  him  up  as  lost,  for  that  after 
he  had  attended  that  ball,  he  intended  to  make  it 
his  business  to  seek  religion.  The  evening  arrived. 
One  went  to  the  prayer-meeting,  the  other  to  the 
amusements  of  the  ball-room.  Soon  after  the 
opening  of  the  religious  meeting,  the  heart  of  the 
young  inquirer  was  set  at  liberty,  and  his  soul  was 
made  to  rejoice  in  the  Saviour's  love.  Soon  after 
the  ball  opened,  the  other  was  standing  at  the  head 
of  the  ball-room,  holding  the  hand  of  a  young  lady 
whom  he  was  to  lead  down  the  dance.  The  music 
was  just  commencing,  when  this  young  man  fell 
backward  a  lifeless  corpse  upon  the  floor.  The 
other  was  immediately  sent  for  to  assist  in  convey- 
ing him  to  his  father's  house.  These  two  young 
men  were  brothers.  Reader,  learn  the  peril  of 
trifling  with  convictions,  the  danger  of  yielding  to 
worldly  friends,  the  ruin  that  may  lurk  in  a  return 
to  worldly  pleasures,  the  judgment  that  may  im- 
pend upon  a  looking  back  to  the  Sodom  from  which 
you  have  once  escaped.  "  RememberLot's  wife."* 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR    CONVERSION. 

Dear  reader,  if  you  are  convinced  that  you  are 
yet  unconverted,  let  me  entreat  you  now  to  attend 
to  a  few  remarks,  which  may  serve  to  show  that 
the  important  and  happy  change  signified  by  that 
word  may  take  place ;  that  it  is  a  thing  quite  pos- 
sible, and  not  the  less  so,  though  you  should  think 
it  impossible.  Unconverted  persons,  when  they 
are  brought  to  think  at  all  seriously  upon  this 

*  Luke  xvii.  32. 


64  POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR   CONVERSION. 

change,  are  very  apt  to  view  it  as  something  so 
difficult  as  to  be  next  to  impossible.  Their  ig- 
norance of  its  nature,  and  their  entire  inattention 
to  what  the  New  Testament  teaches  upon  the 
subject,  may  explain  how  it  is  that  they  deem  it 
impossible.  As  soon  as  they  begin  to  think,  their 
difficulties  and  discouragements  seem  to  multiply 
and  strengthen,  till  sometimes  they  feel  disposed 
to  abandon  all  hope  of  ever  undergoing  it.  Per- 
haps they  have  heard  the  subject  described  as  in- 
volving mystery,  or  in  terms  which  appeared  to 
them  unintelligible. 

It  is,  therefore,  highly  desirable  that  you  should 
feel  convinced  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  nature 
of  conversion  to  render  it  impossible  in  your  case. 

1.  You  are  fully  capable,  as  far  as  your  natural 
pov/ers  are  concerned,  of  understanding  all  the 
doctrines  and  facts  of  the  gospel,  v/hich  are  made 
the  means  of  producing  a  change.  So  that  you 
can  plead  no  natural  incapacity  for  understanding 
''  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus."  You  can  under- 
stand v/hat  it  is  to  be  a  sinner  in  the  sight  of  God, 
to  be  under  the  curse  of  his  law,  to  be  in  danger 
of  eternal  punishment.  You  can  understand  what 
is  meant  by  Christ's  atonement  for  sin  ;  what,  by  a 
gracious  forgiveness,  a  full  pardon,  and  a  promise 
of  eternal  life.  You  can,  further,  understand 
what  is  meant  by  an  entire  change  of  character. 
In  so  far  as  these  things  can  be  expressed  by 
v/ords,  you  can  understand  them,  though  to  feel 
them  may  require  a  more  intimate  and  perfect 
knowledge.  Yet,  in  this  respect,  these  subjects 
stand  in  no  worse  situation  than  any  other  matters 
of  experience.  We  can  understand  by  words  and 
sentences  what  it  is  to  think,  to  move,  to  live,  to 
reason,  to  be  pained,  and  to  be  pleased  ;  though 


POSSIBILITY    OF    YOTR    CONVERSION'.  65 

the  actual  experience  of  the  things  expressed  by 
these  terms  gives  us  a  more  clear  and  complete 
conception  of  them.  Hence,  you  ought  to  be  im- 
pressed with  the  conviction,  that  there  is  nothing 
impossible,  especially  if  you  will  pay  adequate  at- 
tention, in  your  apprehending  those  great  truths 
of  the  gospel  which  must  be  received  before  con- 
version can  be  effected.  It  is  not  intended  here 
to  intimate  that  there  are  no  difficulties  in  the  way 
both  of  your  apprehending  and  feeling  these  sub- 
jects ;  but,  simply,  that  there  is  no  impossibihty. 
You  may  not  only  understand  them  all,  and  per- 
ceive their  authority  and  intimate  connection,  but, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  which  you  may  expect, 
and  are  encouraged  to  ask,  you  may  also  feel  them 
in  all  their  force.  You  can  imagine  no  insur- 
mountable obstacle  in  this  quarter ;  for  the  truths 
in  question  are  so  simple  and  plain,  that  the  hum- 
blest capacity  may  apprehend  them :  they  are  so 
plain,  that  even  a  child  may  understand  them ;  and 
it  is  quite  certain  that  many  children,  and  persons 
of  very  inferior  capacity,  have  understood  them. 

2.  I  observe,  your  heart,  though  sinful,  is  yet 
as  susceptible  of  that  change,  called  conversion, 
as  the  hearts  of  others  who  have  experienced  it. 
You  possess  that  very  nature  for  which  the  means 
of  conversion  are  provided.  You  can  think,  and 
reason,  and  are  susceptible  of  hope  and  fear.  You, 
probably,  feel  that  you  possess  a  heart  that  needs 
conversion  ;  for  you  can  hardly  deem  it  fit  in  its 
present  state  to  be  admitted  into  God's  immediate 
presence.  And  you  have,  doubtless,  seen  or 
known  some  w^ho  have  imdergone  this  change. 
You  knew  them  before  their  conversion,  and  you 
have  seen  them  since,  and  have  perceived  a  great 
akeration.  Even  if  you  have  not  approved  of  it, 
6* 


GG  POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR   CONVERSION. 

you  must  have  observed  it.  Then  consider  this 
fact:  before  their  conversion  they  were  just  in  the 
same  state  as  you  now  are  ;  that  is,  they  had  not 
been  quickened  to  a  due  sense  of  their  sinfulness, 
but  they  are  now  quickened;  they  had  not  felt  the 
fearful  consequence  of  dying-  in  impenitency,  but 
they  were  made  to  feel  it:  they  had  no  aspirations 
of  heart  after  the  holiness  of  the  Christian  charac- 
ter, or  happiness  of  the  Christian  hope  ;  but  they 
have  cherished  these  aspirations,  and  do  now  feel 
them  as  living  principles  in  their  heart.  These, 
then,  are  evidences  that  human  nature,  your  7ia- 
ture,  is  susceptible  of  the  great  change,  called  con- 
version. Those  who  have  undergone  it  were  in 
no  way  different  from  yourselves,  as  to  their  powers 
of  mind,  as  to  their  moral  state,  as  to  their  natural 
endowments,  or  as  to  their  sinful  condition;  and 
yet  these  facts  show  that  they  have  changed  their 
views,  have  cherished  other  feelings,  and  have 
become  new  creatures.  The  change,  therefore, 
which  has  passed  upon  thousands  of  them,  may 
pass  upon  you,  in  so  far  as  this,  which  is  all  I  am 
at  present  concerned  to  establish,  that  your  nature 
presents  no  greater  obstacles  than  theirs ;  and  what- 
ever the  divine  word,  fitly  received,  has  taught 
them,  it  is  able  to  teach  you,  if  you  will  attend  to 
it  seriously ;  and  whatever  the  Spirit  of  God  did  in 
their  case,  in  disposing  their  minds  rightly  to  feel 
the  word  of  truth,  he  is  ready  to  do  for  you,  and 
you  are  just  as  susceptible  of  his  influence  as  they 
were.  I  have  no  wish  to  infuse  into  your  mind 
any  self-confidence  ;  I  would  not,  on  any  account, 
induce  you  to  think  that  you  can  effect  this  change 
unaided  or  unblessed  by  God's  Holy  Spirit.  But  I 
would  have  you  view  your  own  nature,  however 
bad  it  may  be,  as  in  no  worse  condition  than  that 


POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR    CONVKRSION.  67 

of  multitudes  who  have  ah'eady  been  made  sub- 
jects of  converting-  grace. 

3.  It  is  quite  certain,  that  many  have  been  con- 
verted, and  become  eminent  and  happy  Christians, 
who  were  once  as  averse  from  conversion  as  you 
are,  as  ignorant  of  what  it  is,  and  as  unwilhng  to 
renounce  a  carnal  and  worldly  state  for  the  sake 
of  the  pleasures  of  religion.  Of  this  you  may  be 
quite  sure,  for  many  such  have  testified  to  these 
facts,  and  stated  that  no  hearts  could  be  more 
fortified  by  prejudice,  or  disinclined  by  evil  habits 
to  submit  to  the  divine  authority  of  Christ,  or 
obey  him  as  their  Lord  and  King ;  and  yet  their 
opposition  was  subdued,  and  their  hearts  inclined, 
and  at  last  they  submitted,  and  found  peace  and  joy 
in  believing.  Now,  from  these  general  facts  it 
may  be  inferred  that  there  is  nothing  in  your  case 
that  can  place  you  beyond  the  reach  of  that  effec- 
tual grace  which  has  been  granted  unto  so  many 
others.  I  know  it  is  a  part  of  an  unbeliever's  dis- 
position to  indulge  doubts,  and  to  place  imagi- 
nary difficulties  in  the  way,  for  the  very  sake  of 
seeming  to  throw  responsibility  from  the  sinner. 
He  would  gladly  find  reason  to  lay  his  destruction 
at  God's  door,  and  prove  that,  if  he  is  lost,  it  is 
not  his  own  fault,  because  there  are,  as  he  pre- 
tends, insurmountable  obstacles  in  his  way.  Some- 
thing of  this  may  be  discovered  in  the  case  of 
almost  every  sinner.  He  will  find  himself  looking 
about  for  excuses  by  which  he  may  escape  from  the 
charge  of  having  destroyed  himself;  and  a  sinful 
heart  is  always  prone  to  cleave  to  the  idea,  that  there 
is  an  awful  fatality,  a  dire  necessity,  or  impossibi- 
lity in  his  case,  which  prevents  him  from  being 
saved,  though  loilling,  as  he  would  pretend. 
Hence,  many  solace  themselves,  if  I  may  use  such 


68  POSSIBILITY   OF    YOUR   CONVERSION. 

a  term,  with  the  idea,  that  if  they  remain  uncon- 
verted, and  are  lost,  they  shall  be  able  to  prove  that 
it  was  not  their  fault.  Satan  will,  with  unceasing 
effort,  labour  to  maintain  such  a  notion ;  and  as 
long-  as  it  is  maintained,  there  is  an  effectual  barrier 
placed  in  the  mind  against  believing,  because  the 
sense  of  responsibility  in  this  particular  case  is  de- 
stroyed, or  the  heart  is  deceived  into  acareless  state. 
Now,  there  can  be  little  hope  of  bringing  you 
to  a  right  view  of  your  duty,  as  to  repentance,  and 
faith  in  God's  appointed  medium  of  salvation,  as 
long  as  any  idea  of  this  sort  remains.  If  you  ap- 
prehend there  is  any  barrier  to  your  conversion, 
placed  by  nature,  or  Providence,  or  the  Saviour, 
you  are  not  likely  th  make  any  effort.  He  who 
believes  any  result  to  be  impossible,  is  not  likely 
to  use  the  means  of  effecting  it,  even  though  he 
may  see  those  very  means  accompanied  with  suc- 
cess in  many  similar  cases.  So  the  alarmed,  but 
yet  unbelieving  sinner,  is  apt  to  imagine  his  own 
case  to  be  a  solitary  exception,  and  to  indulge  this 
fancy  against  all  fact  and  reasoning,  as  well  as 
against  the  general  assertion  of  Scripture,  rather 
than  give  up  his  unbelieving  thought  of  the  insur- 
mountable nature  of  the  barrier  which  he  fancies 
is  placed  in  his  way.  But  all  such  discouraging  and 
desperate  notions  ought  to  be  relinquished.  It  is 
impossible  that  you  can  have  any  foundation  for 
them.  The  gospel  is  intended  for  all,  without  a 
single  exception.  Its  Author  says,  he  "will 
have  all  men  to  be  saved,. and  to  come  unto  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth."*  If  your  vague  sus- 
picion, that  you  are  excluded  by  some  insur- 
mountable obstacle,  Avere  true,  then  the  testimony 

*  1  Tim.  li.  4. 


POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR    CONVERSION.  G9 

of  God,  and   of  Jesus    Christ,  would    be    false. 
Besides,  multitudes  who  have  had  the  same  sus- 
picions, and  laboured  under  them  for  long  periods, 
have  at  length  discovered  them  to  be  false,  and 
have  cordially  believed  God's  testimony,  and  found 
the  joy  of  acceptance  and  reconciliation.     And 
why  should  not  you  ?   Moreover,  you  cannot  know 
certainly  that  any  such  difficulty    really  lies   in 
your  way.     You  must  admit  that  it  is  mere  sus- 
picion, and  that  you  have  never  resolutely  tried 
to  overcome  the  supposed  difficulty,  nor  earnestly 
sought  divine  assistance  to  remove  it.     "  Who  art 
thou,  O  great  mountain  ?    Before  Zerubbabei  thou 
shalt  become  a  plain."*     Be  entreated,  then,  by 
one  who  is  earnestly  desirous  of  your  salvation, 
who  has  seen  many  such  suspicions  melt  away 
before  the  truth,  to  try  the  effect  of  fervent,  con- 
tinued prayer.     But  let  your  prayer  be  prompted 
by  a  conviction  of  the  ability  and  willingness  of 
your  Saviour  to  remove  this  and  every  obstacle. 
Select  out  of  the  Scripture,  and  use  in  prayer,  and 
in  faith,  some  passages  which  freely  promise  sal- 
vation to  all,  even  the  chief  of  sinners  ;  such  as 
exhibit  the  abounding  of  grace  above  sin  ;t  such  as 
display  the  infinite  power  of  God  to  remove  every 
difficulty,  and  gather  out  all  the  stumbling-stones  ;:|: 
such  as  challenge  the  doubting  to  produce   any 
ground  for  their  fears  ;§  such  as  encourage  you  to 
disclose  all  your  heart  to  God ;  "  Come  now,  and 
let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord."||     Then 
would  your  difficulties  vanish,  your  doubts  be  re- 
lieved, and  divine  succour  be  afforded,  to  work  in 
you  both  to  will  and  to  do  according  to    God's 
good  pleasure. 1[ 

*Zech.  iv.  7.  f  Rom.  v.  20,21.  t  Isa.  Ixii.  10. 

§  Jer.  viii.  22.         B  Isa.  i.  18.  •[  Phil.  ii.  13. 


70  POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR   CONVERSION. 

4.  It  is  very  common  for  the  unconverted,  when 
they  become  a  little  acquainted  with  their  misera- 
ble   and    guilty    condition,   and    are    somewhat 
alarmed  on  account  of  it,  to  imagine  that  there 
exists  a  positive  decree  of  the  Almighty  against 
them,  which  absolutely  excludes  them  from  for-  *. 
giveness,  and  seals  them  up  to  despair  and  final  ' 
ruin.  Sometimes  they  even  plead  this  as  an  excuse  [ 
for  their  total  neglect  of  religion,  and  abandonment  5 
of  themselves  to  a  careless  and  dissolute  life.  But ' 
if  any  reader  has  entertained  such  a  notion,  let  me 
entreat  him  to  consider  and  examine  the  founda- 
tion upon  which  it  rests,  or  rather,  its  want  of  all 
foundation.     He  will  nowhere  find  in  Scripture 
any  such  decree.     He  would  not,  surely,  pretend 
that   there  is  any  special  determination   of  God 
against  him.self:     He  would  not  pretend  that  any 
such  exists  in  the  Bible  ;  he  would  not  allege  that 
he  has  bad  any  special  revelation  of  it  made  to 
him.     The  only  ground,  therefore,  which  he  can 
state  for  such  an  opinion,  must  be   some  strong 
impression    upon    his    mind,   or    some    general 
denunciation  of  Scripture,  in  which,  by  inference, 
he  supposes  himself  to  be  included.  f 

As  to  any  impression  upon  his  own  mind,  how- 
ever strong  it  may  be,  he  has  far  more  reason  to 
think  that  it  is  a  mere  vain  imagination,  suggested 
by  a  guilty  conscience  and  a  despairing  heart,  or 
a  direct  insinuation  of  the  enemy  of  his  soul,  than 
any  portion  of  revealed  truth,  or  any  impression 
wrought  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  It  is  quite  certain 
that  God's  Spirit  calls  upon  him,  in  common  with 
all  sinners,  to  repent ;  and  this  He  would  not  do, 
if  his  case  were  absolutely  sealed.  There  cannot 
be  admitted  to  exist  any  disagreement  between 
the  dictates  of  the  Spirit  in  the  written  word,  and 


POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR   CONVERSION.  71 

the  impressions  produced  by  the  same  Spirit  on 
our  hearts.  If  the  Spirit  by  the  word  commands 
and  urges  the  sinner  to  repent  and  believe  the 
gospel,  the  same  Spirit  cannot  suggest  to  his  mind 
that  repentance  and  faith  would  be  useless,  be- 
cause of  a  divine  determination  against  his  salva- 
tion. Hence,  he  ought  to  give  up  and  abandon 
his  own  imagination,  as  idle,  false,  tending  to  his 
misery  and  ruin ;  and  abide  by  the  language  of  the 
written  word,  as  clear  and  infallible,  and  not  to 
be  contradicted  by  any  vague  notions  or  imagina- 
tions of  his  own  sinful  and  prejudiced  heart.  Let 
God  be  true  to  his  word,  but  every  imagination  of 
our  mind  that  is  opposed  to  that  word,  false. 

Some  who  entertain  the  opinion  now  under  con- 
sideration, would,  perhaps,  plead  that  very  w^ord 
of  God  as  the  authority  for  it ;  and  would  even 
endeavour  to  prove,  that  there  are  express  declara- 
tions of  God  in  his  word,  from  which  they  infer 
their  final  condemnation.  I  have  met  w^ith  many 
who  have  long  entertained  such  an  opinion.  But 
I  have  always  found,  w^hen  they  have  been  required 
to  point  out  the  specific  passages  of  Scripture  from 
which  they  have  drawn  their  inference,  that  they 
are  merely  sentences  of  condemnation  against  sin- 
ners in  general,  some  particular  class  of  sinners, 
or  such  as  have  apostatized  from  the  faith  they 
once  professed.  All  such  threatenings  are,  how- 
ever, conditional.  They  bind  God  to  inflict  final 
punishment  if  the  characters  so  threatened  do  no 
repent.  But  the  possibility  of  repentance  is  sup- 
posed in  every  case,  as  is  evident  by  the  fact,  that 
many  such  characters,  on  hearing  the  threatening, 
have  repented  and  found  mercy.  Even  some  of 
those  clearly  defined  and  awfully  threatened  by 
Scripture,  have  turned  from  their  evil  ways,  and, 


72  POSSIBILITY   OF    YOUR   CONVERSION. 

throuo;h  divine  mercy,  found  forgiveness  for  all 
their  sins,  however  great  and  aggravated.  This  is 
true,  even  of  such  as  have  been  notorious  apostates 
from  their  first  profession.  Thus,  Peter  denied 
Christ,  and  yet  was  restored.  Your  case  is,  how- 
ever, not  like  his.  You  have  never  yet  professed  to 
be  converted,  and  therefore  cannot  be  an  apostate 
from  the  faith  of  Christ.  Passages  of  Scripture, 
therefore,  which  relate  to  such  persons,  can  have 
nothing  to  do  with  you.  You  cannot  find  any  sen- 
tence of  exclusion  from  forgiveness,  in  passages 
which  relate  alone  to  those  who  have  denied  the 
Saviour,  or  renounced  the  faith  of  a  Christian.  I 
wqll  suppose,  therefore,  that  you  derive  your  no- 
tion of  a  final  sentence  having  already  passed 
against  you,  from  some  of  those  comprehensive 
and  awful  denunciations  which  are  directed  against 
sinners  in  general,  or  some  particular  class  of  sin- 
ners, as  blasphemers,  drunkards,  unbelievers,  and 
such  like. 

Here,  then,  I  wish  you  to  observe,  that  all  such 
threatenings,  throughout  the  w^hole  Bible,  are 
conditional,  that  is  to  say,  the  execution  of  them 
is  dependent  upon  their  effect.  They  leave  room 
for  repentance.  They  are  employed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  producing  it;  and  their  very  announce- 
ment presupposes  that  God  will  wait  to  see  their 
effect,  whether  they  produce  repentance ;  and 
that,  wherever  such  repentance  is  produced,  he 
can  no  more  proceed  to  execute  the  threatening, 
than  fail  to  execute  it  where  it  has  produced  no 
effect.  A  clearer  illustration  of  this  cannot  be 
presented,  than  in  the  case  of  the  Ninevites.  A 
positive  threatening  was  uttered  ;  a  time  solemnly 
fixed  for  its  execution,  without  any  reserve  ;  no 
condition  was  even  expressed  ;  no  offer  of  mercy 


POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR   CONVERSION.  73 

ever  made  to  them  ;  and  yet  the  threatening,  be- 
cause it  was  regarded,  because  it  wrought  repent- 
ance, could  not  be  enforced.  The  very  fact,  that 
forty  days  were  allowed  as  a  reprieve,  seemed  to 
imply  that  there  was  room  for  repentance  on  their 
part,  and  mercy  on  God's.  Though  the  prophet 
received  no  commission  to  say  so  ;  yet  the  fact 
proved,  that  however  severe  the  threatening  of 
God,  and  however  brief  the  time  allowed,  yet,  if 
repentance  were  wrought,  he  would  accept  it,  and 
withhold  the  threatened  evil.  This  is  the  princi- 
ple applicable  to  all  the  threatenings  of  God  in 
Scripture  against  sinners.  Although  there  may 
be  no  express  offer  of  mercy  in  the  immediate 
connection  of  the  threatening,  yet  there  are,  else- 
where in  the  book,  sufRcient  testimonies  to  the 
readiness  of  God  to  exercise  such  mercy  towards 
repenting  sinners  of  every  class  and  degree.  "  Let 
the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighteous 
man  his  thoughts  :  and  let  him  return  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him  ;  and  to 
our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon."*  Hence 
it  will  follow,  that  there  is  no  decree  of  God  re- 
vealed in  the  Bible  that  can  warrant  any  uncon- 
verted person  in  concluding  that,  because  he  is  a 
sinner,  or  the  greatest  of  sinners,  or  because  he 
belongs  to  a  special  class  of  sinners,  therefore 
there  is  no  mercy  for  him,  or  no  possibility  of 
deliverance  from  the  destruction  which  is  equally 
threatened  against  all  transgressors  of  God's  law. 
5.  We  may  now  proceed  somewhat  further, 
and  observe — neither  is  there  any  evidence  of  an 
unwillingness  on  God's  part  to  forgive  your  sins. 
It  is  no  unusual  thing  for  the  guilty  mind  to  ima- 

•  Isa.  Iv.  7. 
7 


74  POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR   CONVERSION. 

gine  and  fear  this  ;  but  then  it  must  be  when  that 
mind  loses  sight  altogether  of  the  revelation  of 
mercy  in  the  gospel,  by  Christ  Jesus.  If  that  be 
examined,  and  if  its  authority  be  regarded,  instead 
of  its  being  possible  for  any  sinner  to  discover  in 
it  a  single  trace  of  unwillingness  in  God  to  save 
him,  the  very  reverse  appears  in  almost  every 
page  ;  and,  indeed,  the  whole  scheme  of  the  gos- 
]iel  is  the  most  clear,  unequivocal,  and  emphatic 
declaration  of  God's  willingness  to  pardon  sin, 
and  receive  repenting  rebels  again  into  his  favour. 
Let  me  set  before  you  here  a  few  passages  as 
specimens  of  the  general  tenor  of  the  divine  tes- 
timony upon  this  point — the  willingness  of  God 
to  forgive.  "As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I 
have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked ;  but 
that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live  ;  turn 
ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways  ;  for  why  will  ye 
die  ?"^  "  Him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out."t  "Ready  to  forgive. "±  "I, 
even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions 
for  mine  own  sake,  and  will  not  remember  thy 
sins."§  "  The  Son  of  man  is  come  to  seek  and  to 
save  that  which  was  lost."i|  "Your  heart  shall 
live  that  seek  God."^  "  Seek  ye  me,  and  ye 
shall  live."**  "Ye  shall  seek  me,  and  find  me, 
when  ye  shall  search  for  me  with  all  your  heart."tt 
Now,  against  these  general  and  comprehensive 
expressions  of  God's  mercy  and  grace,  no  ex- 
ception ought  to  be  taken,  unless  there  can  be 
shov/n  to  be  equally  explicit  ground  for  it,  and 
unless  an  authority  equally  valid  and  clear  can  be 
pleaded.     But  we  are  quite  sure  no  sinner,  of  any 

*  Ezek.  xxxiii.  11.        ■{- John  vi.  37.        i  Ps.  Ixxxvi.  5. 
^  Isa.  xHii.  25.  J  Luke  xix.  10.     1  Ps.  Ixix.  32. 

"**  Amos  V.  4.  -j-|-  Jer.  xxix.  13. 


POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR   CONVERSION.  75 

description  or  class,  can  produce  any  exception  to 
these  testimonies  from  the  book  of  God  ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  we  could  show  that  they  have  been 
applied  to  individual  cases  of  all  kinds  of  sinners, 
who  have  found  in  this  a  sufficient  warrant  for 
repentance,  and  sufficient  comfort  in  repentance. 
They  hare  believed,  and  found  forgiveness  and 
acceptance  through  the  appointed  medium  of  a 
Saviour's  blood. 

0.  It  is  still  further  incumbent  upon  me  to  ob- 
serve, that  all  the  grace  expressed  in  and  by  the 
gospel  presents  the  same  aspect  towards  you  as 
towards  all  other  sinners.  We  find  no  exceptions 
ia  the  divine  word,  which  could  be  possibly  con- 
strued into  any  exclusion  of  particular  persons. 
The  apostles  of  Christ  do  not  present  the  general 
and  comprehensive  offer  of  mercy  in  the  gospel, 
and  then  qualify  or  restrict  it  by  mentioning  that 
any  particular  class,  or  even  any  individuals,  are 
excepted  ;  but  they  represent  it  as  looking  towards 
all,  and  presenting  a  divine  pledge  or  engagement 
to  every  one  who  truly  repents  and  unfeignedly 
believes  the  holy  gospel.  It  is  perfectly  vain  and 
futile,  then,  for  any  man  to  make  exceptions  which 
are  not  in  the  word  ;  or  to  plead  that  such  can 
exist,  when  he  has  no  intimation  of  them,  and  can 
by  no  fair  means  infer  any  from  Scripture  lan- 
guage, so  as  to  include  himself.  The  only  excep- 
tions that  can  exist  are  such  as  involve  a  neglect 
or  rejection  of  the  very  matters  commanded, 
without  a  compHance  with  which  there  can,  of 
course,  be  no  salvation  ;  but  then  these  things  are 
repentance  and  faith,  and  nothing  in  the  sinner's 
natural  condition.  Hence,  it  is  clear,  that  the 
ofospel  has  the  same  external  aspect  towards  you 
as  towards  all,  without  any  exception  or  quahfica- 


76  POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR   CONVERSION. 

tion.  It  views  all  as  lost  and  corrupt,  and  it  im- 
partially requires  of  all  repentance  of  sin,  and 
belief  in  the  grace  of  Christ  for  pardon  and  ac- 
ceptance. It  represents  the  blood  of  Christ  as 
equally  efficient  towards  one  as  towards  another. 
"  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin."*  It  is  represented  under  the  figure  of 
"  a  fountain  opened  for  sin  and  for  uncleanness."t 
It  is  nowhere  said  that  sinners  only  of  a  certain 
class  shall  enjoy  the  benefit  of  his  atoning  blood, 
or  that  sinners  of  another  class  will  be  excluded ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  said,  "  He  is  the  pro- 
pitiation for  our  sins  :  and  not  for  ours  only,  but 
also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."!  His  in- 
tercession is  represented  as  continued  in  heaven, 
and  as  exercised  on  behalf  of  all  that  come  unto 
God  by  him  :  "  Wherefore  he  is  able  to  save  them 
to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by  him,  see- 
ing he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them. "§ 
7.  I  may  complete  this  part  of  the  subject  by 
observing  that  you  are  not  cut  ofTfrom  any  means 
of  grace  w^hich  are  essential  to  your  salvation,  or 
which  others  enjoy.  You  may  observe,  that  the 
principal  means  which  others  have  enjoyed  and 
used,  and  through  which  they  have  attained  to 
conversion,  are,  the  word  of  God  read  and  preach- 
ed, with  access  by  prayer  to  the  throne  of  God  in 
the  name  of  the  divine  Mediator.  If  you  could 
inquire  minutely  of  these  what  means  they  found 
lessed  to  their  salvation,  you  would  find  that  the 
same  are  enjoyed  by  yourself.  You  can  read  the 
Bible  as  well  as  any  other  book  ;  you  can  hear  the 
gospel  explained  as  well  as  any  other  subject :  you 
can  as  readily  devote  an  hour  to  prayer  and  medi- 

*  1  John  i.  7.    t  Zech.  xiii.  1 .    t  1  John  ii.  2.    §  Heb.  vii.  25. 


POSSIBILITY    OF    YOUR    CONVERSION.  77 

tation  as  to  any  other  eng-agement.  It  is  of  no 
avail  for  any  one  to  say,  "  But  there  is  something- 
beyond  all  these  which  cannot  be  commanded,  and 
which  I  have  not  in  my  own  power."  Of  course, 
for  what  is  not  in  his  power  he  is  not  to  be  held 
accountable,  any  further  than  as  it  may  be  necessary 
for  him  to  depend  upon  the  bestowment  of  it,  to 
implore  it  fervently,  and  to  rely  upon  the  faith- 
ful promises  which  are  made  relative  to  its  be- 
stowment. But  as  to  those  matters  for  which  he 
is  held  responsible,  and  which  are  fully  within  his 
reach,  he  may  be  sure  that  he  has  not  yet  faith- 
fully employed  these.  Till  he  has  done  so,  and 
done  it  in  dependence  upon  the  divine  blessing, 
he  cannot,  even  to  his  own  conscience,  release 
liimself  from  his  responsibility.  Only  let  the  un- 
converted sinner  search  the  Scripture  for  salva- 
tion, and  pray  in  earnest,  with  perseverance,  and  in 
dependence  upon  the  promised  and  all-sufficient 
grace  of  God ;  and  if  he  is  disappointed  of  the 
blessing,  he  will  be  the  first  sinner  so  left  to  perish 
without  grace  and  without  hope.  Try,  sinner  ! 
Let  me  urge  you  to  put  God  to  the  test  of  his 
fidelity  to  his  own  promise,  and  you  shall  soon 
find  Him  both  a  prayer-hearings  and  answering 
God.  You  can  have  no  right  to  complain,  or 
demur,  till  you  have  fully  complied  with  the  com- 
mands of  Scripture.  Be  entreated,  then,  not  to 
deceive  yourself  with  the  fatal  mistake,  that  you 
have  any  vindication  for  your  unbelief  and  im- 
penitency  in  the  fact  that  grace  is  God's  gift,  since 
your  destitution  of  that  is  clearly  traceable  to  your 
own  indisposition  to  seek  it.  "  Ye  have  not,  be- 
cause ye  ask  not  ;"*  or,  you  have  asked  amiss — 

*  James  iv.  2. 
7* 


78  REASONS    WHY    NOT    YET    CONVERTED. 

coldly,  without  sincerity,  without  faith,  and  without 
perseverance.  Would  you  but  resolve  never  to 
cease  asking-  till  you  had  received,  or  never  to 
leave  the  cross  of  Christ  till  you  either  perished 
or  were  saved,  you  would  soon  enjoy  "  the  bless- 
ing, even  life  for  evermore."* 


CHAPTER  VI. 


REASONS    WHY    YOU    HAVE    NEVER    YET    BEEN    CON- 
VERTED. 

My  intention  in  this  chapter  is,  to  examine  the 
principal  reasons  which  may  be  assigned  for  your 
continuance  in  a  state  of  unconversion,  with  the 
view  of  impressing  your  mind  more  deeply  and 
thoroughly  with  the  conviction  of  the  sinfulness 
of  that  state.  It  is,  and  it  ever  will  be,  quite  im- 
possible for  any  unconverted  sinner  to  shift  from 
himself  the  responsibility  of  being  still,  by  his 
own  free  choice,  an  unconverted  man,  as  long  as 
Christ  can  say  to  all  such,  "Ye  will  not  come  to 
me,  that  ye  might  have  life."t  He  must  know 
and  feel  that  he  has  never  yet  been  willing  to  be- 
come a  new  creature ;  has  never  set  himself 
heartily  to  pray  for  it;  has  never  used  the  means 
of  coming  to  a  full  knowledge  of  the  guilt  of  sin  ; 
and  has  never  anxiously  and  steadily  pursued  the 
inquiry  into  God's  method  of  salvation.  He  has 
not,  therefore,  acquitted  himself  of  his  responsi- 
bility, and  he  can  in  no  way  escape  from  the 
guilt  of  remaining  to  the  present  hour  in  an  un- 
converted state.     While   it  is  clear  he  has   not 

*  Ps.  cxxxiii.  3.  f  John  v.  40. 


REASONS    WHY    NOT    YET    CONVERTED.  79 

done  his  part,  he  can  have  no  excuse  for  endea- 
vouring to  rid  himself  of  the  charge  of  neglecting 
his  salvation.  The  reasons,  therefore,  of  his  con- 
tinuing so  long  unconverted,  ought  to  be  placed 
before  him,  and  pressed  upon  him  with  all  the 
force  that  properly  belongs  to  them. 

Here  we  observe,  1.  That  the  free  and  resolute 
choice  he  has  made  of  a  sinful  life,  proves  that  he 
has  never  really  desired  to  be  converted.  He  has 
delighted  in  evil  things,  has  given  a  decided  pre- 
ference to  a  carnal  state,  and  has  entered  heartily 
into  the  vain  and  sinful  pleasures  of  this  life,  con- 
sidering only  how  he  might  gratify  his  body,  or 
please  his  carnal  and  sensual  mind.  He  can 
scarcely  have  done  this  without  a  distinct  know- 
ledge of  the  better  way;  and  if  with  such  a  know- 
ledge, then  his  sin  is  the  greater,  the  more  aggra- 
vated, because  his  preference  is  the  more  clear 
and  resolute.  He  knew  there  was  a  strait  gate 
and  a  narrow  way,  leading  unto  life  ;  but  he  pre- 
ferred to  walk  in  the  broad  way,  that  leadeth  to 
destruction,  in  which  the  many  go.* 

The  unconverted  reader  cannot  but  be  con- 
scious that  he  has  given  his  entire  heart  to  the 
vanities  of  the  world,  and  to  his  temporal  inte- 
rests ;  and  that  he  has  done  so  even  to  the  conscious 
disregard  of  his  higher  interests ;  frequently 
against  convictions  of  his  sinful  state,  and  of  his 
need  of  an  entire  change.  He  cannot  but  have 
experienced  many  admonitions  and  calls,  many 
inward  warnings,  which  have  been  utterly  disre- 
garded, and  in  defiance  of  which  he  has  continued 
to  live,  and  to  pursue  worldly  and  temporal  good. 
This  obstinate  adherence  to  his  own  sinful  ways 

*  Matt.  vii.  13,  14. 


80  REASONS    WHY    NOT    YET    CONVERTED. 

ought  now  to  appear  to  him  as  a  positive  and  di- 
rect r<3sistance  to  the  will  of  God.  Herein  he  has 
shown  the  depraved  tendency  of  his  affections,  the 
perversion  of  his  will  to  the  choice  of  sin,  and  the 
g-uilty  neg-lect  of  his  eternal  interests,  with  which 
he  cannot  but  perceive  himself  to  be  chargeable. 
2.  It  may  be  further  alleged,  that  he  has  been 
guilty  both  of  inattention  to  the  truth  of  God,  and 
of  disbelief  of  its  most  sacred  and  important  prin- 
ciples ;  and  this  is  another  reason  why  he  has  not 
been  converted.  He  has  not  applied  his  mind  to 
the  humble  and  candid  examination  of  the  gospel  ; 
he  has  not  allowed  it  to  operate  upon  his  heart; 
he  has  both  directly  resisted  it,  and,  by  indulging 
dispositions  opposed  to  the  truth,  has  disqualified 
himself  for  understanding  and  feeling  it ;  has 
raised  clouds  of  evil  passions,  which  have  dark- 
ened the  mind  and  prejudiced  the  heart  against 
the  dictates  of  the  divine  word.  At  times  that 
word  may  have  been  powerfully  urged,  its  author- 
ity presented  to  the  mind,  and  its  light  and  power 
in  part  perceived,  so  as  to  convince  the  judgment 
and  leave  the  conscience  without  excuse.  But 
even  all  this  has  been  resisted  by  a  corrupt  heart 
and  determined  will,  still  urging  him  forward  in 
the  way  of  disobedience.  Probably  he  has  la- 
boured to  fortify  his  mind  by  sophistical  argu- 
ments, and  by  the  reading  of  books  designed  to 
prejudice  men  against  the  Holy  Scriptures.  How 
many  have  been  constrained  to  confess  on  a  dying 
bed,  that  they  were  kept  from  an  attention  to  the 
Bible  by  the  wicked  writings  of  infidels !  The  fol- 
lowing might  be  a  salutary  warning.  "I  was  lately 
called,"  said  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Gunn,  in  a  sermon 
nt  Lothbury  church,  "to  attend  a  young  man  at 
Hoxton.     On  entering-  his  room,  I  found  him  in 


REASONS  WHY  XOT  YET  CONVERTED.     SI 

the  greatest  horror  of  mind.  Thinking  it  perhaps 
arose  from  the  deep  remorse  of  a  penitent  sinner, 
I  began  to  point  to  Jesus,  the  sinner's  only  friend. 
With  an  agonizing  look  of  despair,  he  said,  'Ah ! 
sir,  but  I  have  rejected  the  gospel.  Some  years 
since,  I,  unhappily,  read  Paine's  Age  of  Rea- 
son. It  suited  my  corrupt  taste.  I  embraced 
its  principles.  After  this,  wherever  I  went,  I  did 
all  in  my  power  to  hold  up  the  Scriptures  to  con- 
tempt. By  this  means  I  led  others  into  the  fatal 
snare,  and  made  converts  to  infidelity.  Thus  I 
rejected  God,  and  now  he  rejects  me,  and  will  have 
no  mercy  on  me.'  I  offered  to  pray  for  him.  But 
he  replied,  '  Oh !  now  it  is  all  in  vain  to  pray  for 
me.'  Then,  with  a  dismal  groan,  he  cried  out, 
'  Paine's  Age  of  Reason  has  ruined  my  soul,'  and 
instantly  expired."  Reader,  you  may  not  have 
gone  quite  so  far.  But  you  have,  probably,  never 
carefully  and  seriously  read  your  Bible  ;  never 
opened  it  with  this  impression,  "  Here  I  must  seek, 
for  here  alone  lean  find,  the  salvation  of  my  soul." 
This,  then,  is  culpable  indifference,  practical  in- 
fidelity. 

3.  This  has,  no  doubt,  been  accompanied  with  a 
real  dislike  of  God's  service.  The  unconverted 
sinner  may  be  conscious  that  he  has  all  along  dis- 
approved the  ways  of  God.  It  has  appeared  to 
him  a  very  undesirable  thing  to  become  a  real 
Christian.  He  has  thought  it  less  pleasant  to  obey 
God  than  to  follow  the  corrupt  inclinations  of  his 
own  heart,  which  he  ought  to  have  resisted  ;  be- 
cause it  is  an  essential  and  natural  property  of  a 
man,  to  have  the  power  of  controlling  his  propen- 
sities by  a  sense  of  duty  and  the  dictates  of  con- 
science. Is  it  any  wonder  that  a  person  should 
remain  unconverted,  who  has  been  cherishing  a 


83  REASONS   WHY   NOT    YET    CONVERTED. 

dislike  of  the  service  of  God,  who  has  been  doing- 
every  thing  in  his  power  to  alienate  his  heart  from 
His  service  by  a  contrary  practice,  and  who  has 
never  contemplated  seriously  either  the  honour 
and  happiness  of  serving  God,  or  the  guilt  and 
misery  of  continuinof  in  a  state  of  rebellion?  Is 
it  any  wonder  that  he  should  be  still  unconverted, 
to  whom  the  very  state  of  subjection  to  God,  im- 
plied in  the  term  conversion,  has  appeared  odious 
bondage  ;  and  its  opposite  state,  the  only  true 
liberty  and  the  highest  delight?  Assuredly,  there 
is  in  these  considerations  a  sufficient  explanation 
of  the  fact  that  he  is  still  in  an  unconverted  state. 
4.  Another  reason  may  be  pointed  out,  in  the 
ungrateful  inattention  which  unconverted  persons 
show  towards  the  Saviour.  "  Light  is  come  into 
the  world,  and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than 
light. ""^  Many  such  persons  profess,  indeed,  to 
acknowledge  Christ  as  their  Saviour  ;  but  how  far 
they  are  either  from  cherishing  any  sincere  and 
supreme  respect  for  him,  or  any  ardent  love,  may 
be  inferred  from  their  habitual  neglect  of  him,  his 
teaching,  his  ordinances,  his  admonitions  and  his 
promises.  If  he  is  the  divine  Saviour,  the  only 
Saviour  by  Avhom  we  can  be  delivered  from  the 
guilt  and  dominion  of  sin,  then,  the  neglect  of  him 
must  prevent  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  he 
alone  can  impart ;  then,  to  disregard  him  is,  in 
fact,  to  turn  away  from  the  only  means  which 
could  effect  our  conversion  and  salvation.  Hence 
it  is  obvious,  that  every  unconverted  person,  in  a 
land  where  the  character  and  gospel  of  Christ  are 
known,  stands  chargeable  with  rejecting  the  coun- 
sel of  God  against  himself,  and  so  of  resisting  the 


John  iii.  19. 


REASONS    WHY    NOT   YET    CONVERTED.  83 

means  appointed  for  his  salvation.  Who  can  say- 
that,  if  he  had  attended  gratefully  to  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus,  and  especially  to  the  claims  and  in- 
structions of  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  he  might  not 
long  since  have  found  the  word  made  the  power 
of  God  to  his  salvation  ?  But  though  the  Sa- 
viour has  appealed  to  him,  and  though  the  word 
has  been  in  his  hand,  and  though  God's  ministers 
have,  in  his  name,  besought  the  unconverted  to  be 
reconciled  to  Him,  yet  such  persons  have  not  at- 
tended to  the  word  and  character  of  their  Saviour: 
they  have  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  "  the  voice  of  the 
charmer,  charming  never  so  wisely.''  Is  it,  then,  any 
wonder  that  they  should  yet  be  in  an  unconverted 
state  ?  Here,  alone,  is  reason  sufficient  to  account 
for  the  deplorable  fact.  Deplorable,  because  they 
may  have  lost  many  invaluable  opportunities,  and 
much  time,  which  can  never  be  recovered. 

5.  They  may  be  conscious  of  the  fact,  that  they 
have  never  yet  seriously  and  devoutly  chosen  to 
be  converted.  That  very  change  which  they 
ought  to  have  desired,  because  it  was  both  reason- 
able in  itself,  and  essential  to  their  happiness  and 
salvation  ;  that  change  which  is  enforced  upon 
them,  and  upon  all,  by  the  high  authority  of  God, 
they  have  never  really  wished  to  experience,  and 
never  chosen,  as  a  change  which  they  felt  to  be 
necessary.  Here,  then,  they  may  clearly  detect 
the  real  cause  of  their  continuance  in  their  present 
unconverted  state.  While  it  is  thus  obvious  that 
they  have  never  wished  to  undergo  it,  they  have 
no  need  to  look  for  any  other  reason.  Their 
want  of  this  state  of  mind  is  their  sin  ;  just  as  it 
is  the  sin  of  a  thief,  that  he  did  not  choose  to  be 
honest,  or  of  a  drunkard,  that  he  did  not  choose  to 
be  sober  ;  and  the  want  of  a  right  will,  in  a  case  of 


84  REASONS    WHY   NOT   YET    COX  VERTED. 

clear  duty,  instead  of  extenuating  the  crime,  proves 
that  it  is  crime  ;  and  it  is  on  account  of  that  bad 
and  immoral  state  of  mind  that  the  unconverted 
stand  guilty  before  both  God  and  man.  Had  the 
sinner  chosen  to  be  converted,  that  is,  had  his  will 
been  inclined  or  determined  to  the  change,  it  would 
have  taken  place  long  ago  ;  yea,  the  very  moment 
his  will  had  been  turned  effectually,  he  would 
have  found  the  power  of  God  working  within  hi.s 
soul.  But  he  would  not  come  unto  Christ ;  and 
he  knows  it.  He  knows  that  he  never  has  yet  felt 
his  heartdeterminately  fixed  upon  that  conversion 
which  God  requires.  This  is  what,  I  think,  you 
will  be  conscious  you  have  never  felt.  You  can- 
not but  know  that  you  never  did  calmly  and  fully 
resign  and  commit  yourself  to  the  hand  of  Christ. 
Although  you  are  conscious  that  you  have  often 
heard  his  command  to  repent  and  believe  the 
gospel ;  although  you  have  often  felt  convinced 
that  you  were  a  sinner,  and  in  danger  of  eternal 
perdition ;  although  you  have  all  along  known, 
and  perhaps  secretly  confessed,  that  you  are  bound 
to  repent  and  seek  the  salvation  of  your  soul ;  yet 
this  very  act  of  choosing  to  do  so,  and  proceeding 
to  put  your  choice  into  execution,  you  have  never 
done.  But,  on  the  contrary,  you  have  trifled  with 
the  great  business,  delayed  it,  and  excused  your- 
self, perhaps  in  some  very  subtle  and  sophistical 
manner,  for  this  hesitation  and  reluctance.  Now, 
this  is  the  very  state  of  mind  which  the  Scripture 
represents,  as  proving  those  who  are  in  it  guilty  of 
that  sin  of  sins — unbelief.  The  Saviour  says,  "  Ye 
will  not  come  to  me,  that  ye  might  have  life.""*"^ 
When  he  mourned  over  the  people  of  Jerusalem, 
just  before  his  death,  he  reproached  them  with  this: 
•  John  V.  40. 


REASONS    WHY    NOT    YET    CONVERTED.  65 

«  Ho\v  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children 
together,  even  as  a  hen  e:athereth  her  chickens 
under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  notr'=  Now,  could 
he  or  would  he  have  laid  this  at  their  door,  if  there 
had  been  no  sin  in  it,  or  if  it  admitted  of  any  rea- 
sonable and  valid  excuse  ?     Assuredly  he  would 
not.     He  could  not  have  reproached  them  if  they 
had  not  been,  in  this  respect,  highly  culpable.   And 
is  it  possible  vou  can  deem  it  any  other  than  a  very 
ffrave  and  awful  matter,  never  yet  to  have  solemnly 
willed  to  be  changed  in  heart  and  character,  when 
called  to  it  bv  so  high  an  authority,  when  urged  to 
it  by  a  clear  sense  of  your  sin  and  danger  ?    burely 
you  must  not  merely  admit  the  fact  that  it  has  been 
so,  but  that  it  involves  very  deep  guilt,  so  to  have 
neglected  your  soul's  salvation,  or  so  to  have  per- 
sisted in  a  course  that  you  knew  was  opposed  to 
the  will  of  Jesus  Christ.    When  there  ought  to  have 
been  a  perfect  agreement,  an  absolute  identity, 
between  your  will  and  his  on  the  matter,  there  has 
been  the"  most  direct  opposition.     He  would,  but 
vou  ivould  not.    Yea,  when  he  expressed  his  will 
in  the  plainest  lancruage,  and  enforced  it  in  the 
most  commanding  manner ;  when  he  even  conde- 
scended to  add  entreaty  the  most  affectionate  and. 
uro-ent,  to  admonition  the  most  solemn  and  awaken- 
in?  ;  still  you  did  not  coalesce,  nor  feel  at  all  more 
indined  to  comply,  but  resolutely  held  out,  or  drew 
back,  to  the  indulgence  of  your  sinful  heart,  under 
cover  of  some  excuses  as  vain  as  they  were  delusive 
Unconverted  reader,  let  me  entreat  you  to  look 
back,  and  consider  how  very  often  you  have  dis- 
tinctly detected  this  opposition  of  your  wdl  to  the 
Saviour's,  and  always  maintained  your  resolution, 
al w ays  retained  the  secret  decision  of  your  will 
"'  *  Matt,  xxiii.  37. 

8 


hvJ  REASONS   WHY    NOT   YET    CON^'ERTED. 

Still  to  continue  as  you  were.  It  is  grievous  to 
think  that  this  has  been  the  case  every  time  God 
has  made  a  direct  and  distinct  appeal  to  your  con- 
science, every  time  you  have  been  sensible  of  the 
authority  of  his  word  in  any  powerful  command 
to  repent,  every  time  a  light  has  been  inwardly 
granted,  either  to  show  the  way  to  the  cross  by  re- 
pentance, or  the  way  to  perdition  by  disobedience. 
So  that  if  you  have  been  a  hearer  of  the  gospel,  or 
religiously  educated,  you  must,  many  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  times,  have  felt  the  divine  author- 
ity and  love  of  your  Saviour  weighing  in  your 
mind  against  the  fascinations  of  a  sinful  state  ;  and 
just  so  many  times  you  have,  by  distinct  acts  of 
your  will,  chosen  to  go  on  in  your  unconverted 
state.  Your  present  condition,  then,  is  one  of 
much  guilt.  There  is  a  vast  aggravation  of  crimi- 
nality in  those  acts  of  your  will  which  have  de- 
cided against  the  light  of  truth,  against  the  plain 
commands  of  your  Saviour,  against  the  powerful 
attractions  of  his  love.  It  is  said,  "That  servant 
v/hich  knew  his  Lord's  will,  and  prepared  not 
himself,  neither  did  according  to  his  will,  shall  be 
beaten  with  many  stripes."*  Can  you  deny  that 
a  clear  case  has  been  made  out  against  you  of  a 
resolute  and  fixed  purpose  of  will  to  remain  op- 
posed to  the  command  of  your  Saviour  ?  He  says, 
"  Repent."  You  have  virtually  said,  "  I  will  not." 
He  says,  "  Be  converted."  You  say,  "  I  Avill  not 
be  converted."  And  on  this  ground,  therefore,  you 
stand  clearly  and  fully  convicted  before  God. 

0.  I  am  well  aware  that  many  of  the  uncon- 
verted, and  especially  such  as  have  enjoyed  Chris- 
tian instruction,  are  disposed  to  plead  in  extenua- 
tion  of  their  unwillingness,  that  they  cannot  give 

*  Lr.ke  xii.  47. 


REASONS   WHY    NOT   YET    CONVERTED.  87 

themselves  grace  ;  and  that  such  is  the  nature  of 
their  sinful  state,  that  they  cannot  change  for  the 
better,  and  that  they  cannot  will  otherwise  than 
they  do.  I  believe  this  is  a  very  prevalent  excuse 
Avith  the  unconverted  of  a  certain  class,  and  that 
it  is  an  indication  of  a  state  of  mind  greatly  hard- 
ened and  alienated  from  the  fear  of  God.  This 
is  an  attempt  to  throw  off  the  responsibility  from 
themselves,  and  to  insinuate  that  their  being  un- 
converted is  rather  their  misfortune  than  their  sin. 
If  this  is  the  view  or  feeling  of  any  reader  of 
this  treatise,  I  hope  he  will  patiently  allow  me  to 
expostulate  with  him  .upon  the  extreme  improba- 
bility of  the  issue  of  his  case  proving  as  he  may 
expect :  and  for  this  reason,  that  the  Scripture  no- 
where admits  that  the  unwillingness  of  the  sinner 
is  to  be  palliated  or  excused  in  any  degree,  or 
charged  upon  any  one  but  himself.  So  that,  sup- 
posing his  plea  even  appeared  plausible,  and  did 
not  admit  of  any  satisfactory  reply  on  the  ground 
of  reason,  still  Scripture  is  so  much,  so  univer- 
sally against  the  plea,  that  he  might,  on  that 
ground  alone,  be  sure  there  was  a  fallacy  in  it ; 
and  that  if  it  were  acted  upon,  and  looked  to  for 
a  valid  defence  at  last,  it  would  utterly  fail.  But 
the  very  fact  of  God's  threatening  those  that  re- 
fuse ;  of  his  having  severely  punished  many  who 
have  done  so ;  his  assurance  that  they  will  at  last 
be  without  excuse ;  and  the  further  fact,  that  we 
often  see  a  fearful  retribution  inflicted  upon  those 
who  have  refused,  through  the  power  of  a  guilty 
conscience,  and  in  their  own  agonizing  sense  of 
the  moral  wrong  that  they  have  perpetrated  in  re- 
fusing ;  these  considerations  alone  w^ould  form  a 
strong  presumptive  evidence,  amounting  to  a  suf- 
ficient proof,  that  there  must  be  a  delusion  some- 


88  REASONS   WHY    NOT   YET    CONVERTED. 

where  in  that  man's  mind,  who  feels  disposed  to 
throw  the  responsibility  of  continuing  in  impeni- 
tence from  himself,  either  upon  the  laws  of  his 
nature,  or  the  sovereignty  of  God.  Such  con- 
siderations might  be  sufficient  to  induce  him  to 
abandon  so  insecure  a  refuge  for  his  conscience, 
and  lead  him  to  the  conclusion,  that  God  will  as- 
suredly be  justified  when  he  speakcth,  and  be 
clear  when  he  judgeth.* 

But  may  not  the  unconverted  himself  perceive 
the  very  essence  of  the  fallacy  he  indulges  ?  Is 
there  not  room  for  a  direct  appeal  to  his  own  con- 
sciousness ?  He  knows  that  he  cannot  sincerely 
plead  any  constraint  upon  his  will.  That  which 
arises  from  the  evil  habits  he  has  indulged,  is  pro- 
perly no  constraint,  but  a  cherished  desire ;  no 
violence  done  to  his  will,  but  a  distinct  preference 
the  will  itself  gives  to  that  of  which  he  affects  to 
complain  as  a  grievance  and  a  necessity.  Is  he 
not  conscious  of  the  very  same  freedom  of  choice 
in  rejecting  the  command  of  God,  as  in  complying 
with  any  sinful  propensity  ?  Is  he  not  just  as 
much  atliberty  when  he  prefers  to  continue  in  his 
unconverted  state,  swayed  as  he  is  by  the  mo- 
tives which  incline  to  a  life  of  sin,  as  when  he  re- 
solves to  eat  his  food,  to  attend  to  his  business,  or 
to  pursue  his  pleasures  ?  Surely  he  must  admit, 
that  he  is  conscious  of  acting  in  all  these  cases 
under  the  impulse  of  the  same  free-will.  What 
right,  then,  can  he  have  to  select  one  case,  and 
endeavour  in  that  to  rid  himself  of  all  respon- 
sibility, by  pleading  the  weakness  of  his  will  to 
do  what  is  right,  and  its  strength  to  do  what  is 
wrong  ?  If  he  is  a  free  agent  in  one  of  these 
acts,  so  he  is  in  all.  The  bad  inclination  or  the 
*  Ps.  li.  4. 


REASONS    WHY    NOT    YET    CONVERTED.  89 

bad  habit  is  no  extenuation  of  the  deed  ;  because 
still  it  is  a  deed  of  choice,  and  not  of  constraint 
against  choice  ;  and  of  this  he  is  and  must  be 
conscious.  He  cannot  but  be  convinced,  in  defi- 
ance of  all  sophistry  and  all  palliation,  that  he 
really  has  chosen,  hitherto,  the  course  he  has 
pursued  ;  he  has  wilfully  resisted  God's  command 
and  Christ's  entreaty,  and  just  as  wilfully  pre- 
ferred an  unconverted  state. 

The  extreme  absurdity  of  expecting  that  he  will 
be  able  to  justify  himself  by  the  plea  supposed, 
may  be  still  further  evinced,  by  just  taking-  up  any 
other  case  in  which  the  depravity  of  the  will  has 
been  displayed  by  the  breach  of  moral  obligations. 
How  absurd  it  would  appear,  even  to  the  party 
with  whom  I  am  now  reasoning,  to  hear  a  dis- 
obedient servant,  or  an  undutiful  child,  reply,  when 
charged  with  the  violation  of  duty,  "Very  true  ;  I 
do  not  deny  the  charge,  but  my  will  was 'indis- 
posed to  comply  ;  and,  you  know,  I  could  not  help 
my  will  being  opposed  to  yours  !"  Suppose  a 
criminal,  arraigned  for  robbery  or  murder,  arguing 
in  his  defence  upon  the  same  principle — "  I  did 
not  choose  to  be  honest ;"  or,  "  I  know  I  willed  to 
commit  that  murder,  and  I  could  not  help  doing 
according  to  my  will."  Now,  all  these  cases  would 
appear  the  more  aggravated  by  the  distinct  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  will  having  deliberately 
chosen  so  to  act ;  and  every  impartial  man,  instead 
of  admitting  that  such  a  plea  removed  responsi- 
bility, would  say,  that  the  criminality  was  hereby 
made  the  more  obvious,  that  the  guilt  was  placed 
precisely  at  that  very  point,  and  that  this  wilfulness 
was  the"^  very  thing  which  constituted  the  guilt, 
for  without  that  there  could  have  been  none. 
The  unconverted  person,  v;ho    pleads   his   in- 


90  REASONS    WHY    NOT   YET   CONVERTED. 

ability,  or  impotency  of  will,  to  choose  God's  com- 
mands, or  to  submit  his  heart  to  the  authority  of 
the  Saviour  in  the  business  of  repentance  and  faith, 
should  remember,  that  he  is  pleading  nothing-  to 
the  point ;  nothing  that  God  either  \vill  or  can  ad- 
mit, or  ought  to  admit.  He  ought  to  be  aware,  that 
he  is  not  pleading  that  he  had  no  will  of  his  own 
in  this  business ;  if  he  could  do  that  justly,  it  might 
avail ;  but  his  whole  plea  is,  that,  with  the  natural 
power  to  will,  he  had  an  inclination  to  will  what 
his  conscience  and  judgment  told  him  was  evil. 
This  is,  therefore,  no  excuse  in  the  sight  of  God, 
but  the  very  highest  proof  of  guilt.  He  labours 
under  a  grievous  fallacy,  therefore,  who  imagines 
that  he  can  make  out  a  valid  extenuation  of  his 
impenitence  and  unbelief,  by  referring  to  this  sub- 
tle question  of  his  Avill.  He  would  do  much  bet- 
ter by  humbly  acknowledging  that  all  the  guilt  lies 
upon  his  own  head;  and  that,  when  he  shall  ap- 
pear in  the  judgment,  he  will  undoubtedly  be 
speechless  before  that  righteous  Judge,  who  now 
"commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent;"* 
and  who  will  then  say,  "  These  mine  enemies, 
which  would  not  that  I  should  reign  over  them, 
bring  hither,  and  slay  them  before  me."t 

Let  me  faithfully  forewarn  the  reader,  that  all 
his  excuses  will  be  found  a  refuge  of  lies.  All 
his  metaphysical  sophistry  is  opposed  to  the  plain, 
common-sense  view  of  the  ca:se.  Facts  are  be- 
fore reasoning,  and  more  weighty  than  opinion ; 
and  he  may  rest  assured,  that  the  repose  he  seeks 
for,  in  these  false  refuges  of  a  corrupt  and  per- 
verted reasoning,  Avill  be  disturbed  at  last  by  the 
stern  reality  of  his  condemnation.  "The  bed  is 
shorter  than  that  a  man  can  stretch  himself  on  it : 
•  Acts  xvii.  30.  f  Luke  xix.  27. 


REASONS    WHY    NOT    YET    CONVERTED.  91 

and  the  covering-  narrower  than  that  he  can  wrap 
himself  in  it."* 

7.  It  is,  however,  necessary  to  observe  and 
point  out  here  an  opposite  error,  into  which  others 
fall;  an  error  of  presumption, no  less  fatal,  and,  per- 
haps, even  more  prevalent,  than  the  one  just  com- 
bated. It  consists  in  supposing  that,  because  they 
feel  they  have  a  will  of  their  own,  they  can  direct  it 
to  the  discharge  of  this  spiritual  duty  of  repentance 
and  faith  at  any  time  ;  and  so  they  defer  the  duty 
under  the  false  notion,  that  when  they  choose,  the 
great  work  can  be  done.  But  this  notion  is  just  as 
perilous  as  that  Avhich  would  release  the  will  from 
all  responsibility.  This  would  represent  the  will 
of  man  as  alone  efficient,  while  the  other  would 
reduce  it  to  a  cipher.  In  the  one  case  the  uncon- 
verted would  sink  the  idea  of  the  will  altogether, 
as  if  they  had  none  ;  in  the  other,  the}'^  would 
make  it  omnipotent.  How  perverse  are  the 
thoughts  of  transgressors ! 

It  is  evident  from  the  Scriptures,  that  the  real 
truth  lies  in  neither  of  these  extremes.  And  so 
our  experience  proves  it  to  be.  For,  after  every 
attempt,  on  the  one  side,  to  escape  from  the  guilt 
of  impenitency,  it  still  cleaves  to  the  conscience  ; 
and,  on  the  other,  many  who  have  been  self-suf- 
ficient and  presumptuous,  and  depended  upon  their 
own  strength  of  purpose,  and  future  good  inten- 
tions, have  been  constrained  in  anguish  to  confess 
their  hardness  of  heart,  and  to  acknowledge  that, 
as  they  had  refused  the  call  of  God,  he  had  left 
them  to  be  filled  with  the  fruit  of  their  doings. 
It  is  certain,  that  he  who  presumes  upon  his  future 
ability  to  perform  spiritual  duties,  does  not  under- 
stand the  real  weakness  of  his  soul  tOAvards  all  that 
*  Isa.  xxviii.  20. 


92  REASON'S    WHY    NOT   YET   CONVERTED. 

is  morally  and  spiritually  g^ood ;  does  not  know, 
nor  feel,  the  corruption  of  his  whole  nature,  nor 
the  perverting-  influence  which  evil  affections 
exercise  over  his  will.  The  promise  of  pardon  and 
grace  is  to  those  who  repent  when  the  testimony 
is  addressed  to  them  ;  not  to  those  who  promise  to 
repent  and  helieve  at  some  future  period.  This 
would  be  to  parley  and  barg-ain  with  God  for  a 
continuance  in  sin.  His  nature,  as  well  as  his 
word,  forbids  it.  He  who  thus  presumes  to 
defer  obedience  to  the  divine  testimony,  is  a 
stranger  to  the  dependence  of  sinful  man  upon  the 
grace  of  God  for  so  important  an  act  as  that  of 
repentance.  Does  he  know  or  believe  the  word 
of  Christ,  "Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing;"* 
"No  man  can  come  to  me,  except  the  Father 
which  hath  sent  me  draw  him  ;"t  and  does  he 
presume,  that  of  his  own  unassisted  free-will — a 
will  altogether  under  the  influence  of  corrupt 
motives  hitherto — he  can  choose  at  any  time  to 
return  to  God,  and  change  his  own  nature  ?  A 
mortal,  sinful  man  ought  to  tremble  at  the  thought 
of  such  temerity.  Or  does  he  imagine  that,  after 
suffering  the  accepted  time,  now,  to  pass;  the  time 
in  which  compliance  on  his  part  would  have 
placed  him  in  a  happy  conjunction  with  sovereign 
power  ;  after  treating  the  supreme  command  with 
indifference  and  delay;  after  resolving  to  continue 
unconverted,  zvil/ing  to  reject  the  present  offl-r, 
that  he  may  continue  in  sin — he  shall  be  able  to 
obtain,  and  God  will  be  obliged  to  impart,  those 
gracious  influences,  without  which  he  can  neither 
be  converted  nor  saved  ? 

In  true  conversion,  there  is  required  a  right  af- 
fection of  the  heart:  this  is  what  he  cannot  give 
*  John  XV.  5.  fJohnvi.  44. 


REASONS    WHY    NOT    YET    CONVERTED.  93 

to  himself.  For  it  he  is  dependent  upon  the 
grace  of  God ;  and  tiiis  he  can  have  no  scriptural 
warrant  to  expect,  if  he  neglect  the  present  call, 
and  reject  the  Lord's  accepted  time.  For  that 
grace  he  is  dependent  now.  His  entire  hope  of 
receiving  it  is  involved  in  an  immediate  and  hum- 
ble casting  of  himself  in  faith  upon  the  promise, 
which  is  implied  in  the  expostulation,  "  To-day  if 
ye  will  hear  his  voice."* 

8.  I  must  not  omit  to  notice,  among  the  reasons 
why  some  have  never  yet  heen  converted,  the  pre- 
dominant love  of  an  easily  besetting  sin,  which 
holds  the  soul  fast  after  it  has  felt  itself  willing  to 
give  up  all  other  sins.  This  is  a  cause  which  ex- 
tensively operates  in  the  minds  of  persons  awaken- 
ed to  a  sense  of  their  danger.  Sin,  in  some  of  its 
forms,  perhaps  in  all  but  one  form,  may  appear 
exceedingly  sinful ;  but  if  it  retain  its  dominion  in 
only  one  particular,  the  soul  is  still  its  slave.  This 
may  be  an  easily  besetting  sin,  a  sin  which  you 
excuse  to  yourself,  which  you  extenuate  and 
diminish  ;  but  it  is  a  true  saying  of  Scripture,  "  A 
little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump."t  A  little 
leak  will  admit  water  enough  to  sink  a  ship.  A 
little  spark  will  kindle  a  fire  that  may  burn  a 
house,  or  a  city.  So,  what  men  call  a  little  sin, 
and  which  they  would  have  spared,  because  it  is 
little,  and  alluring,  will  corrupt  and  subjugate  the 
whole  soul.  Let  sin  but  possess  the  affections  of 
the  heart,  and  it  will  run  like  poison  through  the 
blood.  How  can  the  salvation  of  the  soul  be  pur- 
sued, if  even  a  single  sin  is  cherished  ?  The  very 
thought  of  making  provision  for  it,  proves  that 
the  heart  is  not  right  in  God's  sight :  the  attempt 
to  conceal  it  is  vain,  and  can  be  attended  only 

*  Heb.  iii.  7.  f  ^al.  v.  9. 


94     REASONS  WHY  NOT  YET  CONVERTED. 

with  disappointment  and  disgrace.  Be  assured 
that,  in  the  indulgence  of  any  sin,  or  sinful  affection, 
there  is  evil  enough  to  counteract  all  your  anxiety 
after  salvation.  Now,  it  may  be  the  case,  that 
you  have  long  had  your  thoughts  directed  towards 
the  desirableness  of  securing  by  faith  an  interest 
in  Christ ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  you  have  had  a 
secret  inclination  to  some  forbidden  iniquity,  or 
you  have  been  living  in  some  sinful  gratification  ; 
and  if  so,  here  you  may  discover  the  reason  why 
you  have  never  found  peace  or  hope.  If  sin 
reigns,  it  is  directly  hostile  to  grace.  You  may 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  reading  the  Scriptures, 
and  of  attending  to  other  means  whereby  reli- 
gious impressions  are  produced,  and  religious 
habits  maintained.  But  these  do  not  constitute 
conversion.  That,  as  already  shown,  is  the  entire 
surrender  of  the  heart  to  Jesus  Christ.  It  neces- 
sarily implies  the  sacrifice  of  every  sinful  habit, 
every  corrupt  affection.  Jesus  Christ  came  to 
save  his  people  from  their  sins  ;  and  that  man 
cannot  be  a  partaker  of  converting  grace,  who 
would  desire  any  one  of  those  sins  to  be  excepted 
from  the  destruction  to  which  all  are  alike  doomed. 
If,  then,  you  feel  that  you  are  yet  unconverted, 
though  you  may  have  attended  to  some  of  the 
means  of  conversion,  be  entreated  to  consider, 
whether  there  is  not  yet  an  easily  besetting  sin, 
which  forms  the  great  obstacle,  the  counteracting 
influence,  which  keeps  you  from  an  entire  surren- 
der of  your  heart  to  Christ. 

9.  Another  reason  why  you  have  not  been  con- 
verted before,  may  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  you 
have  often  neglected  impressions  made  upon  your 
mind,  and  disregarded  convictions  which,  on 
many  occasions,  have  been  brought  home  to  you. 
This  is  frequently  the  case  Avith  those  who  have 


REASONS    WHY    NOT    YET    CONVERTED.  95 

attended  upon  the  faithful  ministry  of  the  word, 
and  observed  some  religious  duties.  Perhaps  you 
have  had  your  sinful  state  clearly  set  before  you  ; 
you  have  felt  anxious  for  your  salvation  ;  you 
would  gladly  have  attained  to  the  same  peace  and 
hope  of  which  you  have  heard  Christians  speak. 
But  you  have  suffered  some  difficuhies  to  deter 
you,  or  some  seductions  of  the  world  to  draw  you 
aside,  and  so  your  impressions  have  subsided  and 
your  convictions  have  been  effaced.  The  Spirit 
of  God  may  have  spoken  to  you  in  the  still  small 
voice  of  conscience,  or  in  the  solemn  warnings  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  but  to  all  these  you  have 
turned  a  deaf  ear,  or  you  have  endeavoured  to 
forget  them.  There  was,  perhaps,  a  time  Avhen 
you  were  near  the  happy  decision  ;  but  some  delay 
was  suggested,  or  some  difficulty  arose  to  view, 
and  all  the  previous  convictions  were  overcome. 
The  sin  and  danger  of  trifling  with  these  convic- 
tions is  illustrated  in  other  parts  of  this  volume, 
and  need  not  be  enlarged  upon  here  ;  they  are 
mentioned  now,  only  to  remind  you  how  clearly  it 
is  your  own  fault  that  you  have  not  been  con- 
verted before. 

10.  Finally,  it  may  be  proper  to  observe,  that 
the  conversion  of  some  is  delayed  because  they 
labour  under  mistaken  views  of  what  should  be 
done  in  order  to  conversion.  A  mind  that  is 
powerfully  impressed  with  the  importance  of  sal- 
vation may  be  impelled,  and  frequently  is,  to  set 
about  amendment,  and  commence  a  new  course 
of  life,  without  exactly  knowing  what  is  the  direct 
method  of  obtaining  forgiveness  of  sins,  and,  fre- 
quently, without  employing  suitable  means  for 
gaining  instruction.  Those  sources  of  information 
are  not  consulted,  from  which  alone  it  might  be 
at  once  and  clearly  learned,  that  every  convinced 


96  REASONS    WHY   NOT    YET    CONVERTED. 

sinner  must  first  come  to  Christ,  and  immediatelj'- 
receive  his  promise  of  salvation.  The  inevitable 
consequence  is,  a  vain  and  fruitless  labouring  for 
life  by  means  of  a  reformation  begun  in  human 
strength.  If  a  mistake  of  this  kind  is  committed, 
it  leads  to  disappointment,  and  places  conversion 
at  a  greater  distance  than  ever.  The  general 
mistake  is,  to  place  duties  before  faith,  reforma- 
tion before  coming  to  Christ.  And  wherever  this 
is  the  case,  there  is  a  manifest  neglect  of  the 
divine  admonition,  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."*  A  sinner  maj" 
say  he  is  using  the  means  of  salvation,  while  yet 
he  has  no  other  idea  than  that  an  external  reforma- 
tion is  all  he  needs.  In  such  a  case,  he  is  rather 
using  the  means  to  work  out  a  righteousness  for 
himself,  than  following  the  directions  of  the  divine 
word,  to  repent  of  sin,  and  believe  in  the  blood  of 
Christ  for  its  pardon ;  and  vrhile  so  doing,  he  is 
not  converted,  nor  in  the  way  to  conversion.  This 
reason  alone,  without  any  previously  mentioned, 
may  be  sufficient  to  explain  why  you  have  not 
been  converted  before. 

Repent,  therefore,  now,  and  come  to  Jesus  with 
a  grateful,  believing  heart,  and  this  will  be  con- 
version:  then  will  follow  submission  to  his  yoke, 
obedience  to  his  commands  and  delight  in  doing 
his  will.  Herein  consists  the  difference  between 
the  true  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  much 
that  passes  under  the  name  of  religion.  Some 
place  duties  and  reformation  first,  and  Christ  after- 
Avards  ;  the  word  of  God  places  Christ  first,  and 
duties  as  the  fruit  of  union  to  him.  If  you  wish 
to  see  this  matter  more  fully  explained,  you  are 
referred  to  those  chapters  which  treat  of  the  Mis- 
taken^ and  the  Self-sufficient. 

*  Acts  xvi.  31. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

REASONS    WHY    YOUR   CONVERSION    SHOULD    TAKE 
PLACE    NOW. 

If  conversion  be  a  real  blessing,  and  most  essen- 
tial to  your  happiness ;  if  it  be  a  change  from  a 
bad  state  to  a  good  one,  from  a  state  of  danger  to 
one  of  safety  ;  then,  assuredly,  the  sooner  it  takes 
place,  the  better.  There  can  be  no  reason  offered — 
none,  at  least,  that  can  be  valid — for  continuing  in  a 
state  of  sin  and  danger,  while  a  change  is  possible, 
and  while  every  thing  invites  you  to  it.  But  this 
is  not  the  only  view  which  ought  to  be  taken  of 
the  subject ;  there  are  others,  which  will  enforce 
still  more  emphatically  and  directly  the  urgency 
of  this  change.  These  I  will  now  proceed  to  lay 
before  you  with  all  fidelity  and  earnestness,  hoping 
and  praying  that  the  force  of  the  reasons  may  con- 
strain you  to  an  immediate  acquiescence  in  the 
divine  call,  "  Be  converted."* 

1.  Your  conversion  should  take  place  now,  be- 
cause you  enjoy  at  this  moment  sufficient  means. 
I  am  to  suppose  that  you  possess  the  word  of  God, 
that  you  hear  the  gospel  preached,  and  have  ac- 
cess to  the  throne  of  the  heavenly  grace  through  the 
divine  Mediator.  - 1  am  to  suppose  you  are  aware 
of  the  great  facts  Vv'hich  are  included  in  the  gospel ; 
that  you  are  not  ignorant  of  the  invitation  of  Jesu 
Christ,  "Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest  ;"t  and  that 
you  are  no  stranger  to  the  important  and  glorious 
doctrine  of  his  atonement.  You  already  know, 
that  he  gave  himself  to  be  a  ransom  for  sinners  ; 

*Acis  ill.  19.  f  Matt.  xi.  28. 

9  97 


y©  WHY    YOUR   CONVERSION 

and  that  he  has  sent  the  proclamation  forth  to  all, 
that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  shall  be  saved. 
All  that  is  necessary,  so  far  as  a  knowledge  of  the 
gospel  is  concerned,  you  enjoy  at  this  moment; 
then,  why  not  close  now  with  the  divine  call,  and 
receive  Jesus  Christ  into  your  hearts  ?  "  What  are 
you  afraid  of,  that  you  dare  not  venture  your  soul 
upon  Christ  ?  Are  you  afraid  that  he  cannot  save 
you ;  that  he  is  not  strong  enough  to  conquer  the 
enemies  of  your  soul  ?  But  how  can  you  desire 
one  stronger  than  'The  mighty  God,'  as  Christ  is 
called  ?*  Is  there  need  of  greater  than  infinite 
strength  ?  Are  you  afraid  that  he  will  not  stoop  so 
low  as  to  be  willing  to  take  any  gracious  notice  of 
you  ?  But,  then,  look  on  him  as  he  stood  in  the 
ring  of  soldiers,  exposing  his  blessed  face  to  be  buf- 
feted and  spit  upon  by  them  !  Behold  him  bound, 
with  his  back  uncovered  to  those  that  smote  him ! 
And  behold  him  hanging  on  the  cross  !  Do  you 
think  that  he  who  had  condescension  enough  to 
stoop  to  these  things,  and  that  for  his  crucifiers,  will 
be  unwilling  to  accept  of  you,  if  you  come  to  him  ? 
Or  are  you  afraid,  that  if  he  does  accept  of  you, 
God,  the  Father,  will  not  accept  of  him  for  you  ? 
But  consider,  will  God  reject  his  own  Son,  in 
whom  his  infinite  delight  is  and  has  been,  from 
all  eternity ;  and  who  is  so  united  to  him,  that,  if 
he  should  reject  Him,  he  would  reject  Himself? 
There  is  nothing  further  to  be  looked  for,  in  the 
way  of  any  other  Saviour,  no  new  revelation  of 
truth,  nor  any  further  means  of  grace.  If  you  in- 
dulge an  idea  that  you  need  any  other,  you  do  but 
deceive  yourselves ;  for  God  has  already  granted 
you  the  gospel,  and  that  points  out  to  you  the  free 
access  which  is  afforded  to  all  through  Christ  Jesus, 

*  Isa.  ix.  6. 


SHOULD    TAKE    PLACE    NOW.  99 

that  the}'  may  come  to  God  in  prayer,  and  plead 
the  efficacy  of  that  blood  which  was  shed  for  the 
remission  of  sins.  Think  of  this,  then  :  the  price 
of  true  wisdom  is  placed  in  your  hands  ;  if  you  use 
it  now,  you  will  obtain  the  gift ;  if  you  neglect  it, 
youdo  virtually  refuse  it, or  unreasonably  continue 
in  a  state  of  hostility  against  God,  which  is  itself 
exceedingly  sinful,  and,  if  persisted  in,  must  draw 
upon  you  a  sentence  of  exclusion  from  his  favour 
forever.  What  a  culpable  delay  would  he  be 
guilty  of,  who,  while  labouring  under  disease, 
with  a  physician  standing  before  him  and  offering 
a  remedy  known  to  be  effectual,  should  show  re- 
luctance, and,  from  some  trifling  excuse,  defer  the 
use  of  the  means  prescribed  !  I  am  well  aware, 
that  many  sinners  imagine  they  may  safely  defer 
this  important  step  ;  and  that  they  often  delude 
themselves  with  the  fancy,  that  there  will  come  a 
more  favourable  opportunity,  or  some  more  ef- 
fectual means  ;  and  thus  they  cheat  themselves 
out  of  the  proper  use  of  those  they  now  possess, 
under  the  false  notion,  that  they  are  to  wait  for 
something  further,  or  to  expect  a  more  favourable 
conjuncture.  But  the  present  is,  in  fact,  the  only 
time  allowed ;  and  those  who  neglect  it  may  find 
that  the  golden  opportunity  has  been  lost,  lost  for- 
ever. "  Now  is  the  accepted  time."^'  If  this  is 
the  acceptable  time,  what  more  could  be  desired 
by  any  one  ?  It  is  the  divine  authority  which 
declares  this ;  and  it  is  equally  certain,  that  this 
is  said  of  no  other  period.  He,  therefore,  who 
rejects  this,  or  who  still  pleads  for  delay,  loses 
the  only  time  to  which  God  himself  has  attached 
this  important  epithet,  accepted,  which  surely 
means  that  you  may,  and  indeed  shall,  be  accept- 

*  3  Cor.  vi.  2. 


100  WHY    YOUR    CONVERSION 

ed.  Would  any  man  wish  for  any  other  ?  Could 
he  fix  upon  a  period  which  should  afford  a 
brighter  hope?  Or  what,  beyond  such  a  pledge 
of  divine  acceptance,  could  be  desired?  If  con- 
version includes  acceptance  with  God,  as  well  as 
a  change  of  your  mind,  and  both  these  must  con- 
cur at  some  time,  if  you  are  ever  saved ;  if, 
further,  you  cannot  command  God's  favourable 
acceptance  of  you,  but  must  receive  it  as  an  act  of 
his  free  grace  ;  then,  his  accepted  time  should  be 
yours — gratefully,  fervently  embraced,  lest  that 
which  you  may  deem  a  time  more  acceptable 
to  yourself,  should  prove  not  to  be  so  with  Him. 
Your  time,  therefore,  should  be  His.  The  very 
fact,  that  His  acceptance  of  you  is  an  act  of  grace, 
ought  to  enforce  this  upon  you.  For  he  who 
needs  an  act  of  grace,  and  at  the  same  time  desires 
it,  must  receive  it  when  the  conceding  party  offers 
to  grant  it,  or  it  may  pass  away  and  never  return. 
This,  then,  is  just  the  situation  of  every  uncon- 
verted man.  He  cannot  become  converted  with- 
out the  grace  of  God  ;  that  grace  announces  the 
present  to  be  the  favourable  time,  pledges  itself  to 
the  bestowment  of  it  noiv,  if  there  be  a  true  faith, 
but  makes  no  reserve  for  a  better  season,  or  for 
any  other — no  pledge  for  a  future  day.  The  sin- 
ner, therefore,  who  knows  his  true  situation,  and 
feels  the  risk  he  would  run  by  delay,  will  surely 
not  think  of  waiting  for  a  more  convenient  season, 
seeing  this  is  the  most  favourable,  the  only  time 
sure  to  him,  and  the  only  one  to  which  the  high 
and  sovereign  Being,  on  whom  he  absolutely  de- 
pends for  his  salvation,  has  annexed  the  term 
"accepft'rf,"  saying,  "To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his 
voice,  harden   not  your  heart."*     To-day  Jesus 

*  Heb.  iv.  7. 


SHOULD    TAKE    PLACE    NOW.  101 

is  set  before  you  as  both  an  able  and  a  willing- 
Saviour.  I'o-DAY  he  says,  "Come  unto  me  :"  to- 
day he  opens  his  arms  for  your  reception  :  to- 
day he  admits  you  to  the  throne  of  grace  :  but 
remember,  if  it  should  appear  to  you  not  an  ac- 
cepted time,  not  yet  convenient,  or  not  yet  de- 
sirable to  forsake  your  sin  and  flee  to  the  Saviour 
you  have,  literally,  no  promise  whatever  of  an 
other  opportunity,  no  authority  to  attach  the  term 
accepted  to  any  future  time. 

2.  But  let  me  distinctly  press  upon  you  the 
consideration,  that  God  expressly  calls  upon  you 
to  be  converted  noiv.  He  does  not  say.  Take 
the  subject  into  consideration,  and  when  you  have 
seen  the  propriety  of  it,  then  obey.  But  at  once, 
and  on  the  spot,  and  in  the  same  moment  in  which 
He  announces  the  Creator's  will.  He  requires  the 
compliance  of  the  guilty  creature  ;  and,  by  allow- 
ing no  space  for  delay  or  dispute.  He  forbids  you 
to  hesitate  even  for  an  hour,  but  obhges  you  to  an 
immediate  compliance.  And  do  not  think  this 
either  strange  or  hard.  For  herein  God  does  but 
assert  his  proper  prerogative,  and  place  you  in 
your  proper  situation,  as  a  rebel  against  his 
authority,  and  a  guilty  offender,  dependent  alto- 
gether upon  his  free  mercy  for  salvation.  In  no 
other  way,  certainly,  could  an  oflended  God  treat 
with  rebellious  creatures.  Submission,  instant 
submission  to  his  authority,  and  instant  reliance 
upon  his  free  and  sovereign  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus, 
is  the  only  method  which  it  becomes  him  to  adopt. 
This  is  conversion  ;  this  is  immediate  conversion  ; 
this  is  what  we  intend  by  your  conversion  taking 
place  noiv.  Here,  then,  we  say,  is  a  reason — a 
reason  paramount  to  all  others — a  reason  from 
which  vou  cannot  appeal,  and  the  force  of  which, 
9^ 


102  WHY    YOUR    CONVERSION 

it  is  hoped,  you  both  admit  and  feel,  why  you 
should  at  once  be  converted  to  God.  "  God  now 
commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent."* 
"  Acquaint  now  thyself  with  him,  and  be  at 
peace. "t  "  Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be 
found,  call  ye  upon  him  while  he  is  near.":}:  Our 
Saviour  says,  "  Agree  wiih  thine  adversary 
quickly,  whiles  thou  art  in  the  way  with  him."§ 

These  views  might  be  further  confirmed,  by 
showing  how  God  has  expressed  his  anger  against 
those  who  have  refused  and  delayed,  and  by  re- 
ferring to  those  Scriptures  which  express  his 
displeasure  generally  against  all  who  do  so.  As 
in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  he  says,  "  Because  I  have 
called,  and  ye  refused, "||  &c.  The  parable  of  the 
ten  virgins,  in  the  25th  chapter  of  Matthew,  shows 
what  shall  be  the  treatment  of  those  who  neglect 
the  accepted  time.  The  shutting  of  the  door 
against  the  foolish  virgins  teaches  us,  that  de- 
layers may  apply  too  late,  and  that  if  they  refuse 
God's  appointed  time,  he  may,  in  anger,  swear, 
"  They  shall  not  enter  into  my  rest."^ 

3.  It  is  proper  here  distinctly  to  remind  you, 
that  you  do  not  know  that  you  shall  enjoy  any 
other  time  besides  the  present.  You  cannot  look 
forward  and  say,  I  shall  live  till  next  year,  or  till 
I  find  more  leisure,  or  till  I  have  settled  affairs 
that  now  engross  my  time  and  attention.  You 
cannot  say,  I  shall  live  till  to-morrow,  and  will 
then  give  my  best  attention  to  my  soul's  affairs. 
"  For  what  is  your  life  ?  It  is  even  a  vapour,  that 
appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth 
away."**  Even  while  you  think  to  enjoy  some 
future  period,  the  fatal  sentence  may  have  passed 

•  Acts  xvii.  30.  f  Job  xxii.  21.    t  Isa.  Iv.  6.  §  Matt.  v.  25. 
II  Prov.  i.  24.         Tl  Heb.  iii.  11.        **  James  iv.  14. 


SHOULD    TAKE    PLACE   NOW.  103 

the  lips  of  your  patient  and  long-suffering  Lord, 
"Cut  it  down;  why  cumbereth  it  the  ground  T''^ 
Do  you  not  constantly  hear  of  sickness  and  death 
invading  persons  at  all  ages  and  under  all  cir- 
cumstances? Even  those  that  felt  most  secure, 
and  seemed,  according  to  human  judgment,  most 
likely  to  live,  have  been  cut  off  in  a  moment,  or 
so  severely  affected  by  disease  as  to  be  incapable 
of  attending  to  this  most  important  concern.  And 
I  may  say,  not  only  have  these  things  been,  but 
they*  are  constantly  occurring  around  you  on 
every  hand  ;  so  that  no  man  can  say,  "  I  am  safe  ; 
I  have  made  a  covenant  with  death."  God  grants 
you  the  present  time  for  the  discharge  of  this 
imperative  duty,  the  first,  the  highest,  and  the 
most  essential,  an  immediate  turning  of  your  heart 
from  the  love  and  practice  of  sin,  a  full  and  unaf- 
fected confession  of  guih,  and  the  earnest  entreaty 
of  the  divine  forgiveness  through  the  blood  of  the 
great  atoning  Sacrifice. 

4.  Your  conversion  ought  not  to  be  delayed 
longer,  because  you  may  effectually  and  forever 
exclude  yourself  from  that  grace  which  is  now 
offered.  This  may  take  place  in  two  ways,  from 
either  of  which  the  utmost  damage  may  result  to 
your  immortal  soul.  (1.)  By  the  hardening  effect 
of  that  state  of  impenitence  in  which  I  suppose 
you  to  continue,  and  to  continue  by  a  direct  pur- 
pose of  your  mind.  You  resolve  not  yet  to  seek, 
not  yet  to  receive  the  grace  of  God  for  your  con- 
version. The  very  effect  of  that  resolve  upon 
your  mind  and  heart,  is  to  produce  an  increased 
degree  of  insensibility  to  your  sin  and  danger,  a 
greater  degree  of  hardihood  against  God,  and  a 
more  reckless  spirit  in  reference  to  the  threatened 
*  Luke  xiii.  7. 


104   CONVERSION  SHOULD  TAKE  PLACE  NOW. 

issue  of  sin.  The  more  your  conscience  is  inured 
to  the  possible  consequences  of  transgression,  while 
yet  those  consequences  are  at  a  distance,  the  less 
does  conscience  feel  or  fear ;  the  longer  you 
practise  evil,  the  less  docs  conscience  feel  it  to  be 
evil,  the  more  familiar  does  it  become  with  the 
evil,  and  the  less  moved  by  the  dread  of  its  ter- 
mination. These  are  facts  observable  in  the  his- 
tory of  sin  and  sinners,  and  they  ought  to  make 
you  afraid  of  continuing  any  longer  under  the 
dominion  of  sin,  lest  you  should  grow  insensible, 
even  past  recovery.  No  sinner  can  tell  when 
that  time  may  be  passed,  or  at  what  period  he  may 
become  so  callous  that  no  future  means  may  be 
powerful  enough  to  quicken  him  to  an  alarming 
sense  of  his  danger,  and  of  the  evil  of  his  sin. 
As  all  sin  tends  to  lull  the  conscience  and  the 
moral  feelings,  just  as  any  sleepy  drugs  tend  to 
overpower  the  senses  ;  so,  in  both  cases,  there 
may  be  a  point  beyond  which  no  powers  of  alarm 
that  can  be  used  will  be  of  any  avail.  (2.)  But 
there  is  another  view  which  you  ought  to  consider 
here.  The  unconverted  very  often  delay  conver- 
sion, under  the  idea  that  something  in  providence 
will  arise,  some  event  occur,  or  some  impression 
be  made  upon  their  minds,  v/hich  will  suggest  to 
them,  that  "  Now  is  the  set  time  come  :"  for  these 
extraordinary  signs  they  wait,  instead  of  going  at 
once  to  confess  their  sins  and  seek  divine  for- 
giveness. We  have  shown  already,  that  God's 
time  for  your  repentance  is,  when  he  calls  you  to 
it.  That  time,  therefore,  has  arrived.  Improve 
it  now.  If  you  delay  past  the  present  moment, 
in  which  God  employs  his  summons  to  arouse 
you,  it  is  possible  that  he  may  be  so  offended  by 
this  additional  act  of  inattention,  as  to  afford  neither 


THE    PROMISE    OF    CONVERTING    GRACE.         105 

means  nor  grace  any  longer,  but  in  anger  with- 
draw both,  and  proceed  to  judgment,  by  givino; 
you  over  entirely  to  yourself.  There  is  such  a 
fearful  thing  sometimes  occurring;  and  though  we 
cannot  say  in  what  cases  it  has  really  taken  place, 
yet  we  may  suspect  it,  when  it  becomes  evident 
that  God,  in  anger,  leaves  men  entirely  to  them- 
selves. He  said  of  some,  ''  So  I  gave  them  up 
unto  their  own  hearts'  lust :  and  they  walked  in 
their  own  counsels."*  "Ephraim  is  joined  to 
idols  :  let  him  alone. "t  This  abandonment  of 
the  sinner  by  God,  must,  indeed,  be  a  most 
fearful  thing ;  for,  in  it,  the  case  of  the  unhappy 
transgressor  becomes  as  hopeless  as  if  he  had 
already  passed  into  the  place  of  punishment, 
and  the  eternal  state  of  suffering.  Suppose  it  per- 
fectly true,  that  we  do  not  knov\^  and  cannot  fix 
the  period  in  any  particular  case,  when  this  has 
taken  place,  and,  therefore,  cannot,  and  dare  not 
say  of  any  individual,  he  is  absolutely  abandoned 
of  God ;  yet,  this  very  fact,  of  the  difficulty  of  say- 
ing when  and  where  a  man  has  arrived  at  this 
crisis,  should  make  us  shrink  from  risking  it,  and 
earnestly  endeavour  to  prevent  it,  as  an  evil  of  the 
most  fearful  and  stupendous  nature. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE    PROMISE    OF    CONVERTING    GRACE. 

Most  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  read  this  book, 
will  have  had  some  previous  exercise  of  mind 
concerning  their  conversion,  and,  perhaps,  will 

•  Ps.  Ixxxi.  13.  f  Hos.  iv.  17. 


106  THE    PROMISE    OF    CONVERTING    GRACE. 

be  conscious  of  having  made  some  ineffectual 
efforts  towards  it.  Perhaps  some  will  read  it, 
who  have  been  long-  convinced  of  the  necessity 
of  conversion,  and  have  been  desiring  it,  as  they 
may  think,  very  earnestly;  but  they  have  found 
hitherto  little  encouragement,  and,  perhaps,  no 
ground  at  all  to  conclude  that  they  have  under- 
gone the  great  and  momentous  change.  There  , 
must  have  been  some  serious  error,  or  deficiency, ' 
in  all  these  states  of  mind ;  there  must  be  some 
radical  principle  wanting,  or  else,  just  views 
already  gained,  and  right  feeling  already  ex- 
perienced, might  have  led  on  to  the  full  enjoyment 
of  the  blessing.  Perhaps  there  has  been  an  over- 
sight, or  even  a  criminal  neglect,  of  the  divine 
promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  influence.  Many, 
who  hear  conversion  explained  and  enforced  from 
the  pulpit,  as  essential  to  salvation,  do  enter- 
tain occasional  wishes  that  they  may  be  converted  ; 
but  with  how  inadequate  a  notion  of  its  nature,  or 
of  the  means  by  which  it  is  to  be  effected,  is 
evinced  in  the  failure  of  their  good  purposes,  the 
subsidence  of  their  anxiety,  and  their  continuance 
in  a  state  of  uneasiness  and  unregeneracy.  May 
not  such  persons  discover  an  obvious  neglect  of 
w^hich  they  have  been  guilty,  in  disregarding  the 
promise  of  God's  assistance?  ■■ 

1.  We  may  take  occasion  here  to  enforce  upon 
you  the  necessity,  the  absolute  necessity,  of  such 
divine  assistance,  from  the  failure  of  the  many 
attempts  which  you  have  already  made. 

You  have  made  such  endeavours,  but  it  has 
been  without  any  adequate  sense,  perhaps  without 
any  sense  at  all,  of  your  dependence  upon  divine 
aid.  There  has  not  been,  at  such  times,  a  dis- 
tinct recognition  of  your  own  insufficiency,  nor  of 


THE    PROMISE    OF    CONVERTING    GRACE.  107 

your  need  of  divine  grace  to  help  you  ;  hence,  all 
such  attempts  have  failed,  and  you  have  been  left 
to  feel  your  own  weakness,  that  you  may  not  trust 
in  yourself,  but  in  the  living  God.  If  you  look 
back,  therefore,  upon  your  own  past  experience, 
you  may  find  the  most  humbling  and  emphatic 
proof  of  your  need  of  divine  help ;  and  may, 
hence,  derive  a  valuable  lesson,  to  urge  you  now 
to  seek  that  help  which  is  so  freely  and  fully 
offered  to  you.  If  you  have  found  all  your  resolu- 
tions fail,  and  all  your  convictions  subside,  you 
may  be  sure  you  have  not  believed  God's  word,  nor 
complied  with  the  divine  testimony,  concerning 
conversion.  You  may  look  back  and  see,  in  your 
own  disappointment  the  folly  of  which  you  have 
been  guilty,  in  not  casting  your  helpless  soul  upon 
the  promised  grace.  Your  sins,  so  often  triumph- 
ant, and  the  snares  of  temptation,  so  constantly 
successful,  all  witness  to  the  weakness  of  that  na- 
ture which  has  been  so  long  and  so  vainly  aiming 
at  a  change  of  heart,  in  utter  neglect  and  disre- 
gard of  the  inspired  intimation,  that  you  must 
experience  divine  power  in  your  soul,  and  accept 
divine  assistance.  Surely,  you  will  now  begin  to 
see  that  you  have  only  been  deceiving  yourselves 
with  vain  hopes,  and  expecting,  or  seeking  to 
accomplish  that  by  your  own  unassisted  efforts, 
which,  you  have  been  forewarned,  requires  the 
Holy  Spirit's  grace  and  assistance. 

2.  Let  me  then  remind  you  of  the  high  au 
thority  on  which  such  promises  of  divine  help 
rest.  It  is  God  himself  who  has  granted  these 
promises,  and  sealed  them  to  you  in  the  most 
solemn  manner,  as  sure  and  unfailing.  It  is  im- 
possible for  any  of  God's  promises  to  fail,  and  that 
class  of  them  which  particularly  relates  to  sinners 


108  THE    PROr.IiSE    OF    CONVERTING    GRA.CE. 

finding  mercy  and  grace  upon  turning  to  him,  are 
as  full  and  clear,  as  sure  and  unfailing  as  any 
others.  The  infinite  compassion  and  kindness  of 
God,  in  recording  them  for  your  encouragement, 
ought  to  incline  you  to  an  instant  renunciation  of 
sin,  and  an  entire  reliance  upon  the  grace  which 
is  exerted  whenever  the  soul  is  made  willing  to 
turn  to  God.  ''  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved. "*^ 
"The  Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmities."!  "If  ye, 
being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children,  how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which 
is  in  heaven  give  good  things  (or,  as  it  reads  in 
Ijuke  xi.  13,  the  Holy  Spirit)  to  them  that  ask 
him  V'i  "  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall 
give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide 
with  you  forever,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth. "§  "And 
Avhen  he  is  come,  he  will  reprove"  (or  convince) 
"  the  world  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of 
judgment."'!  The  very  fact  that  such  promises  are 
recorded,  shows  the  helplessness  of  a  sinner,  and 
points  out  his  resource.  Their  proper  effect  upon 
you  should  be,  to  awaken  a  firm  reliance  upon  God 
for  their  accomphshment,  and  to  convince  you  that 
you  cannot  take  a  single  step  of  any  importance 
v/ithout  his  effectual  grace.  If  you  neglect,  or 
even  if  you  do  not  cordially  receive  and  rely  upon 
these  promises  of  divine  help,  you  can  expect 
nothing  but  failure  and  disappointment.  You 
may  lay  it  down  as  an  infallible  truth,  that  all 
your  efforts  will  be  unavailing  to  secure  your  sal- 
vation, unless  you  are  brought  fervently  to  plead 
the  promises  of  God  in  prayer,  and  confidently  to 
look  for  their  fulfilment.  Think  of  the  Supreme 
authority,  which  declares  your  nature  to  be  as 

*  Isa.  xlv.  22.  j  KoRi.  viii.  26.  t  Matt  vii.  11. 

§  John  xiv.  16,  17.  5  John  xvi.  8. 


THE    PROMISE    OF    CONVERTING    GRACE.         109 

morally  helpless  as  it  is  guilty,  and  as  much  in 
need  of  grace  to  help  as  of  mercy  to  pardon.  The 
representation  of  these  great  first  principles  is 
made  in  the  holy  word,  for  the  purpose  of  remov- 
ing every  false  ground  of  hope,  of  inducing  you 
to  despair  of  your  own  sufficiency,  and  of  inspiring 
you  with  the  hope  that  all  your  sufficiency  shall 
be  of  God.  Thus  emptied  of  yourself,  you  will  be 
both  prepared  and  concerned  to  be  filled  with 
God  ;  his  power  shall  then  be  exerted  to  work  all 
your  works  in  you.  It  may  appear  to  some  of  you 
not  unlike  a  paradox,  to  say,  that  when  you  are  re- 
duced to  a  state  of  desperation,  as  to  yourself,  you 
will  then  be  nearest  to  hope,  as  it  regards  God  ;  for 
you  will  find  this  the  only  proper  state  of  mind  for 
the  reception  of  his  promised  and  all-sufficient  aid. 
3.  We  may  also  call  you  to  observe,  that  the 
blessed  and  happy  result  of  salvation  is  pledged, 
by  these  infallible  promises  of  God,  to  all  who  rest 
in  them,  and  derive  their  entire  support  from 
them.  Here  is  the  object  to  which  faith  must 
direct  its  eye,  the  foundation  on  which  faith  is  to 
build.  It  is  exhibited  so  fully,  clearly  and  gra- 
ciously, for  the  purpose  of  inspiring  your  mind 
with  confidence  ;  and  the  very  contemplation  of  it 
in  a  right  spirit,  as  it  is  simply  a  matter  of  gracious 
revelation,  will  work  faith  in  your  heart ;  that 
faith  will  bring  you  into  the  enjoyment  of  the 
blessing ;  power  shall  be  given  you  from  God, 
and  cause  you  to  feel  your  heart  warmed  with  the 
love  which  he  displays  in  the  gift  of  his  Son,  and 
in  all  his  gracious  influence  upon  your  soul,  to 
enable  you  to  receive  Christ  as  yours.  You  may 
not  be  able  to  perceive  beforehand  how  these 
things  should  be  ;  but  in  submitting  your  soul  to 
them,  in  endeavouring  to  meditate  humbly  and 
10 


110    THE  PROMISE  OF  CONVERTING  GRACE. 

devoutly  upon  them,  you  will  become  conscious 
of  their  wonderful  power,  and  feel  the  divine 
energy  they  possess,  in  that  only  way  by  which 
tliey  can  be  effectually  known,  even  by  experi- 
ence. If,  indeed,  you  are  in  earnest  to  enjoy  that 
sound  and  saving  conversion  to  God,  to  which  it 
is  the  humble  object  of  this  treatise  to  direct  you, 
then  you  will  at  once  abandon  all  specious  ob- 
jeclions,  and  all  idle  notions  of  your  own,  and 
just  go  to  the  divine  directory  to  be  taught  and 
formed,  submitting  your  heart  in  all  things  to  be 
cuided  by  its  dictates,  and  resolved  to  follow  out 
the  path  it  sets  before  you,  and  to  pray  for  that 
divine  influence  which  it  teaches  to  be  indispens- 
able :  and,  in  all,  resting  upon  the  many  gracious 
promises  you  will  there  find  suited  to  every  stage 
of  your  experience,  and  to  every  exigence  of  your 
soul.  If  you  can  indeed  humble  yourself  to  re- 
ceive all  as  the  free  gift  of  grace,  and  if,  in  receiv- 
ing the  gift  rightly,  you  can  be  content  to  be 
Avrought  upon  by  Him  that  "  worketh  in  us  both  to 
will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure,"  *"  then  the  joy 
of  salvation  shall  be  yours  ;  "  The  peace  of  God, 
which  passeth  all  understanding,  shall  keep  your 
hearts  and  minds  through  Christ  Jesus  ;"t  and  you 
shall  feel  yourselves  the  subjects  of  that  transform- 
ing power  of  the  Spirit,  which  will  work  mightil}'- 
within,  to  the  pulling  down  of  the  strong-holds  of 
sin  and  Satan.  You  desire  to  know  the  momen- 
ous  secret  of  "joy  and  peace  in  believing.'":}:  Is 
not  this  the  great  object  you  profess  to  seek  ?  Is  it 
not  to  be  brought  into  this  state  of  heart  that  you 
have  long  been  labouring  and  striving  ?  Is  it  not  to 
attain  this  joyful  and  happy  liberty  that  you  have 
so  often  been  asking,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be 

•  Phil.  ii.  13.  f  Phil.  iv.  7.  i  Rom.  xv.  13. 


THE    PROMISE    OF    CONVERTING    GRACE.         Ill 

saved  ?"  Is  it  the  great,  commanding  object  of  you  r 
desire  ;  that  which  really  appears  to  you  the  most 
desirable  and  the  most  important  of  all  blessings  ? 
Is  it  indeed  that,  for  the  possession  of  which  you 
have  sometimes  thought  you  could  gladly  give  up 
all,  and  in  preference  to  which  you  know  of  no- 
thing you  could  either  esteem  or  value  "?  O,  then, 
this  is*  the  very  blessing  which  God  is  willing  to 
bestow ;  this  is  the  very  boon  his  promises  hold 
forth  to  you;  this  is  the  gift,  and  the  blessing, 
which  he  reproves  you  for  not  seeking,  for  not 
even  accepting  when  offered  :  and  if  but  once  you 
are  brought  to  an  entire  reliance  upon  his  promise 
of  grace,"the  blessing  shall  be  yours.  Nothing  can 
prevent  your  possession  and  enjoyment  of  it,  for 
it  is  sealed  to  each,  to  all  that  lay  hold  on  the 
promise  of  eternal  life.  The  Spirit  takes  of  the 
things  of  Christ  to  show  them  unto  you.* 

Let  me,  therefore,  entreat  you  once  more  to 
think  what  inexpressible  excellences  meet  in  Him 
who  is  recommended  to  you  as  the  only  Saviour. 
"What  is  there  you  could  desire  in  a  Saviour, 
that  is  not  in  Christ?  Or,  wherein  should  you 
desire  a  Saviour  to  be  otherwise  than  Christ  is? 
What  excellency  is  there  wanting?  What  is 
there  that  is  great  or  good ;  what  is  there  that  is 
venerable  or  winning;  v/hat  is  there  that  is  adora- 
ble or  endearing  ;  or  what  could  you"  think  of  that 
would  be  encouraging,  which  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  person  of  'Christ?  Would  you  have  your 
Saviour  to  be  great  and  honourable,  because  you 
are  not  willino^  to  be  beholden  to  a  mean  person  ? 
And  is  not  Christ  a  person  honourable  enough  to 
be  worthy  that  you  should  be  dependent  upon 
him  ?  Is  he  not  a  person  high  enough  to  be  ap- 
*  John  xvi.  14. 


112        THE    PROMISE    OF    CONVERTING    GRACE. 

pointed  to  so  honourable  a  work  as  your  salva- 
tion ?  Would  you  not  only  have  a  Saviour  of 
high  degree,  but  would  you  have  him,  notwith- 
standing his  exaltation  and  dignity,  to  be  made 
also  of  low  degree,  that  he  might  have  experience 
of  afflictions  and  trials,  that  he  might  learn,  by  the 
things  that  he  had  suffered,  to  pity  them  that  suffer 
and  are  tempted?  And  has  not  Christ  been  made 
low  enough  for  you  ?  And  has  he  not  suffered 
enough  ?  Would  you  not  only  have  him  possess 
experience  of  the  afflictions  you  now  suffer,  but 
also  of  that  amazing  wrath  that  you  fear  hereafter, 
that  he  may  know  how  to  pity  those  that  are  in 
danger  and  afraid  of  it  ?  This,  Christ  has  had  ex- 
perience of;  which  experience  gave  him  a  greater 
sense  of  it  a  thousand  times  than  you  have,  or 
than  any  man  living  has.  Would  you  have  a  Sa- 
viour to  be  one  who  is  near  to  God,  so  that  his 
mediation  might  be  prevalent  with  him  ?  And  can 
you  desire  him  to  be  nearer  to  God  than  Christ  is, 
who  is  his  only  begotten  Son,  of  the  same  essence 
with  the  Father  ?  And  would  you  not  only  have 
him  near  to  God,  but  also  near  to  you,  that  you 
may  have  free  access  to  him  ?  And  would  you 
have  him  nearer  to  you  than  to  be  of  the  same 
nature,  united  to  you  by  a  spiritual  union,  so 
close  as  to  be  fitly  represented  by  the  union  of 
the  wife  to  the  husband,  of  the  branch  to  the  vine, 
of  the  member  to  the  head ;  yea,  so  as  to  be  one 
pirit  ?  For  so  he  will  be  united  to  you,  if  you 
accept  of  him.  Would  you  have  a  Saviour  who 
has  given  some  extraordinary  testimony  of  mercy 
and  love  to  sinners,  by  something  that  he  has  done 
as  well  as  by  what  he  says  ?  And  can  you  think 
or  conceive  of  greater  things  than  Christ  has  done  ? 
Was  it  not  a  great  thing  for  him,  who  was  God,  to 


THE    PROMISE    OF    CONVERTING    GRACE.         113 

take  upon  him  human  nature  ?  To  be  not  only 
God,  but  man.  thenceforward  to  all  eternity?  But 
"vvould  you  look  upon  suffering  for  sinners  to  be  a 
greater  testimony  of  love  to  sinners,  than  merely 
doing,  though  it  be  ever  so  extraordinary  a  thing 
that  he  has  done  ?  And  would  you  desire  that  a 
Saviour  should  suffer  more  than  Christ  has  suf- 
fered for  sinners  ?  What  is  there  wanting,  or 
what  would  you  add  if  you  could,  to  make  him 
more  fit  to  be  your  Saviour?" 

Then  let  me  call  you  to  reflect  upon  the  hap- 
piness and  peace  which  you  will  experience  in 
feeling  the  Spirit  bearing  witness  that  Christ  is 
yours  and  that  you  are  his.  There  is  one  me- 
thod, and  but  one,  whereby  these  joys  can  ever  be 
experienced  by  sinners.  That  is  the  way  of  faith. 
Other  ways  you  have  tried  in  vain.  Now  try 
this.  Store  up  the  word  of  promise  in  your  heart ; 
direct  your  desires  to  the  Spirit  of  grace  ;  contem- 
plate his  gracious  Avork  Avith  confidence  and  satis- 
faction, and  cry  unto  Him,  and  say  "Come,  O 
divine  Spirit,  take  away  the  heart  of  stone,  and 
give  me  one  of  flesh  !"  And  if  you  are  still  con- 
scious, deeply  conscious,  that  you  do  not  yet  feel 
his  quickening  influence,  let  your  supplications 
be  unceasingly  and  fervently  renewed,  wrestle  in 
prayer  till  Christ  be  formed  in  your  heart  the  hope 
of  eternal  glory.  Faint  not  at  delay;  yield  not  to 
discouragement.  The  cause  of  such  delay,  and 
of  such  discouragement,  is  yet  in  yourself. 


10^ 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    MARKS    OF    CONVERSION. 

It  is  only  intended  in  this  chapter,  very  briefly 
to  state  the  principal  marks  which  indicate  the 
reality  of  conversion.  Those  which  we  shall 
name,  may  not  all  appear  at  once.  The  reader 
is,  therefore,  cautioned  not  to  be  discouraged 
if  he  cannot  find  every  mark  in  the  early  stage 
of  his  experience.  They  may  all  appear  in  due 
course.  Let  him  observe,  that  there  are  some 
signs  which  will  speedily  become  apparent,  when 
the  Spirit  of  God  has  commenced  his  work  in  the 
soul.  Other  signs  may  exist  in  principle,  but  it 
may  require  time  to  call  them  into  exercise,  and 
to  bring  them  to  that  strength  and  maturity  which 
can  alone  make  their  existence  obvious  and  satis- 
factory. A  seed,  as  soon  as  its  first  germ  appears, 
proves  its  vitality,  and  begins  to  show  its  own  pe- 
culiar properties,  just  as  certainly  as  when  it  has 
reached  its  perfection.  Some  of  its  peculiar  pro- 
perties appear  immediately;  all  the  others  are 
there  vitally  and  in  embryo,  and,  in  due  time, 
the  entire  development  of  all  the  essential  pro- 
perties of  the  plant  will  take  place.  The  same  is 
true  of  human  nature.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  discover,  and  absurd  to  seek,  all  the  properties 
of  the  perfect  man  in  the  new-born  babe  ;  yet 
they  are  there,  and  will  display  themselves  in  the 
order  of  nature.  We  make  these  remarks  to 
guard  those  who,  in  the  commencement  of  the 
work  of  grace  in  the  soul,  are  anxious  to  perceive 
evidences  of  conversion,  against  being  discouraged 
if  they  cannot  discover  at  once  all  the  signs  that 
may  be  here  named,  or  which  they  may  find  de- 
111 


THE    MARKS    OF    COXVLRSIOX.  115 

tailed  in  treatises  written  expressly  upon  the  evi- 
dences of  a  state  of  grace. 

1.  Perhaps  the  first  symptom  of  which  the  con- 
verted become  conscious,  is  a  change  of  their  feel- 
ings in  reference  to  sin,  the  pleasures  of  the  world, 
and  the  chief  objects  of  their  former  pursuit  and 
delight.  These  cease  to  please.  The  soul  that  is 
converted  receives  a  new  nature,  to  Avhich  sin  is 
offensive,  and  the  very  thought  of  it  alarming. 
The  change  which  a  converted  sinner  has  ex- 
perienced, consists  essentially  in  a  turning  of  the 
thoughts  and  affections,  the  will  and  the  conscience, 
to  God's  commands  ;  and  by  the  light  and  au- 
thority of  these  he  is  made  sensible  to  the  great 
evil,  great  guilt  and  great  misery  of  all  sin.  He 
ceases  to  make  provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the 
lusts  thereof;  and  though  he  may  feel  the  law 
of  his  flesh  warring  against  the  new  law  of  his 
mind,  yet  the  very  existence  of  that  war  shows 
that  a  divine  principle,  counteractive  of  sin,  has 
entered  and  is  in  active  operation  among  the 
powers  of  his  soul.  This  is  a  sign  which,  if  calmly 
considered,  can  hardly  be  mistaken.  A  nature 
that  delights  in  sin  cannot  be  confounded  with 
one  that  hates  it,  feels  contaminated  by  its  ap- 
proach and  pained  by  its  touch.  The  nature  that 
takes  no  delight  in  holiness,  and  feels  no  anxiety 
to  become  holy  and  to  please  God,  is  directly  op- 
posed to  that  which  views  sin  as  the  cause  of  all 
its  misery,  and  purity  as  essential  to  peace  and 
salvation.  Hence,  if  a  man  is  converted,  he  be- 
gins immediately  to  mortify  the  flesh  with  its  af- 
fections and  lusts;  to  deny  ungodliness  and  world- 
ly lusts,  and  to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly 
in  this  present  world.  There  is  to  him  a  force  and 
meaning  which  he  never  perceived  before,  in  such 
passages  of  Holy  Scripture  as  the  following :  "  Now 


116  THE    MARKS    OF    CONVERSION. 

being  made  free  from  sin,  and  become  servants  to 
God,  ye  have  your  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end 
everlastinig  life."*  "I  delight  in  the  law  of  God 
after  the  inward  man."t  "  How  shall  we,  that  are 
dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein  ?"J  "  Follow 
holiness,  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord."§  The  true  convert  not  only  must  not  be, 
but  he  ivill  not  be,  disinclined  to  forsake  even  his 
easily  besetting  sin,  and  to  strive  after  that  purity 
of  heart  which  will  identify  him  with  a  holy  God 
and  a  holy  Saviour.  Say,  then,  reader,  whether 
you  are  brought  to  that  state  of  mind,  that  you 
can  cheerfully  renounce  all  that  is  pronounced 
evil  by  the  word  of  God,  and  folloAv  after  that 
purity  of  heart  and  life  which  is  pronounced  bless- 
ed ?||  If  you  find,  after  careful  examination,  that 
you  can  do  this,  then  you  have  one  important  mark 
of  conversion,  which,  with  others,  may  determine 
the  fact ;  but  if  this  be  wanting,  if  sin  be  still  your 
element  and  holiness  undesirable,  be  sure,  what- 
ever your  convictions  and  alarms,  that  you  have 
not  yet  experienced  true  conversion. 

2.  Conversion  cannot  have  taken  place,  unless 
you  have  been  humbled  as  a  sinner  under  the 
sentence  of  God's  holy  law  ;  so  humbled,  and  so 
convinced,  as  to  acknowledge  before  God  the 
justice  of  the  sentence  that  condemns  the  sinner 
to  everlasting  punishment.  It  is  possible,  indeed, 
that  one  who  has  not  experienced  conversion,  may 
be  convinced  of  his  guilt,  and  may  acknowledge 
the  justice  of  his  sentence  ;  but,  in  such  a  case, 
there  will  be  no  turning  of  the  heart  to  Him  that 
smiteth.  no  godly  sorrow,  or  sorrow  that  draws  the 
heart  to  Him  ajjainst  whom  sin  has  been  committed. 


*  Rom.  vi.  22.  f  Rom.  vii.  22.  i  Rom.  vi.  3. 

§  Heb.  xii.  14.  il  Matt.  v.  8. 


THE    MARKS    OF    CONVERSION.  117 

who  has  the  power  and  the  right  to  punish,  but 
who  is  wiUing  to  pardon.  Examine  your  own 
heart  upon  this  matter,  and  ask  yourself  such  ques- 
tions as  these  :  Have  I  been  led  to  see  the  deep  and 
universal  depravity  of  my  nature  ?  Am  I  convinced 
that  a  righteous  Crod  might  justly  mark  my  iniqui- 
ties, and  proceed  to  execute  against  me  the  dread- 
ful sentence  I  have  incurred,  the  sentence  of 
everlasting  exclusion  from  his  presence,  and  ba- 
nishment to  that  place  where  despair  and  torment 
must  forever  reign  ?  Have  1,  under  the  influence 
of  these  convictions,  humbled  myself  before  God, 
and  said,  with  the  apostle, "  The  law  is  holy,  and  the 
commandment  holy,  and  just,  and  good.  But  I 
am  carnal,  sold  under  sin."*  Since  then,  I  de- 
serve nothing  but  justice,  and  by  my  sins  have 
forfeited  every  thing  good,  have  I  thus  come  to 
God,  to  seek  all  through  his  infinite  forbearance 
and  mercy  ?  Have  I  told  him  my  convictions, 
spread  my  deplorable  case  before  him,  and  said, 
Lord,  save,  or  I  perish? 

3.  Another  important  sign  of  conversion  will 
appear  in  the  state  of  your  affections  towards  the 
Saviour.  Are  you  drawn  to  him  as  the  one  Me- 
diator between  God  and  man,  the  only  Redeemer 
of  the  soul,  whose  blood  has  been  received  as  an 
atonem.ent  for  sin,  and  whose  righteousness  is  to 
all  and  upon  all  those  who  come  unto  God  by 
him  ?  Do  you  view  him  as  the  way,  the  truth, 
and  the  life,  without  whom  no  man  cometh  unto 
the  Father  ?t  Are  you  led  to  place  all  your  hope, 
and  repose  all  your  confidence,  in  his  perfect 
atonement,  his  prevailing  intercession,  his  justi- 
fyincf  righteousness  ?  Are  you  looking  to  him  as 
the  divine  source  of  gracious  influence,  from 
whose  fulness  alone  you  can  receive  pardon,  jus- 
*~Romans  vii.  13,  14.  t  John  xiv.  6. 


118  THE    MARKS    OF    CONVERSION". 

lification  and  sanctification  ?  Forsaking  all  other, 
and  renouncing  all  confidence  in  your  own  reso- 
lution, obedience,  or  righteousness,  are  you  will- 
ing, yea,  anxious,  to  receive,  as  he  is  ready  to 
confer,  all  the  blessings  of  salvation  and  grace  now, 
and  of  glory  hereafter?  Do  you  not  only  enter- 
tain these  sentiments,  but  are  your  affections 
warmed  with  a  sense  of  his  excellence,  and  your 
heart  melted  by  the  contemplation  of  his  dying 
love  ?  Do  you  delight,  and  feel  strengthened  by 
looking  to  Jesus,  in  the  divinhy  of  his  nature,  the 
greatness  of  his  condescension,  the  tenderness  of 
his  compassion  to  the  chief  of  sinners  ?  The  soul 
that  has  felt  his  converting  grace,  has  especially 
felt  it  in  the  view  of  Calvary  ;  and,  indeed,  can 
never  revert  to  that  scene  of  the  Saviour's  suffer- 
ing, without  a  mingled  emotion  of  grief  and  joy  : 
grief,  that  it  should  be  necessary  that  Christ 
should  endure  such  suffering  ;  and  joy,  that  he 
was  willing  thus  to  redeem  a  lost  world.  If  your 
affections  are  right  toward  Christ  Jesus,  you  will 
value  him  above  all  earthly  treasure,  and  desire  a 
sense  of  his  love  before  every  human  joy.  He 
will  be  the  chief  among  ten  thousand,  and  alto- 
gether lovely.  You  wnll  desire  nothing  so  much 
as  to  "  -win  Christ,  and  be  found  in  him."*  You 
will  love  his  bright  example,  as  well  as  the  un- 
speakable blessing  of  redemption  ;  and  you  will 
set  him  before  your  soul  as  the  pattern  of  that 
humility,  purit}-,  separation  from  sin,  and  devoted- 
ness  to  the  glory  of  God,  which  you  will  both 
earnestly  desire  and  sincerely  strive  to  attain. 
To  do  to  others,  in  some  measure,  as  he  has  done 
to  you,  will  be  your  aim  and  your  delight. 

4.  The  true  convert  takes  pleasure  in  all  God's 
commandments.     If  they  are  hateful  or  grievous, 
t  Phil.  iii.  8,9. 


THE    MARKS    OF    CONVERSION.  119 

there  can  be  no  evidence  of  conversion.  This  is 
a  part  of  that  course  by  which  all  the  true  sons  of 
God  are  to  prove  the  sincerity  of  their  love.  Have 
you  such  delight  in.  God's  service,  that  you  can 
forego  temporal  interests  and  worldly  pleasure  ? 
Are  you  conscious  of  a  real  hungering  for  the 
bread  and  thirsting  for  the  water  of  life  ?  It  is 
written,  "  They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  re- 
new their  strength."*  Since  God  has  appointed 
the  reading  and  hearing  of  the  word,  prayer, 
praise,  and  Christian  fellowship,  therefore  the 
soul  of  the  convert  delights  in  them.  But  there 
is  an  essential  difference  between  doing  all  these 
Ihings  mechanically,  slavishly,  and  formally,  for 
the  mere  sake  of  recommending  ourselves,  or 
meriting  the  divine  favour  ;  and  doing  them  from 
a  sense  of  love  and  of  gratitude,  of  pleasure  and 
privilege.  A  formalist  may  very  zealously  strive 
to  keep  God's  commands  ;  but  he  knows  nothing 
of  the  spirit  of  love,  of  liberty,  and  of  adoption. 
The  real  servant  feels  Christ's  yoke  to  be  easy 
and  his  burden  light.  It  is  his  meat  and  drink  to 
do  the  will  of  God.  But  he  who  has  not  given 
his  heart  to  God,  may  serve  him  only  from  slavish 
fear.  The  force  of  this  criterion  depends,  there- 
fore, upon  the  true  spirit  of  love,  from  which  alone 
God  can  be  acceptably  served  and  honoured.  All 
other  service  is  worthless,  and  can  never  attest  a 
state  of  conversion.! 

5.  It  is  stated  by  the  apostle  Paul,  "As  many 
as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons 
of  God."±  His  working,  though  not  palpable  to 
any  of  our  bodily  senses,  is  not  imperceptible  by 
the  mind.  The  love  which  he  produces  to  God 
and  Christ;  the  sense  of  insufficiency  for  any 
good  works  in  ourselves ;  the  conscious  depend- 
»  Isa.  xl.  31.      t  Ps.  cxix797,  103,  165.      t  Rom.  viii.  14. 


120  THE    MARKS    OF    CONVERSION. 

ence  of  the  soul  upon  the  Redeemer's  grace  ;  the 
spirit  of  supplication,  and  the  spirit  of  filial  affec- 
tion felt  in  supplication  :  the  earnest  longings  of 
the  soul  after  spiritual  things,  and  after  the  graces 
of  the  Spirit  in  particular ;  the  drawing  of  the 
heart  to  the  divine  word,  and  to  the  ordinances  of 
religion,  the  house,  the  people,  and  the  service  of 
God,  when  these  are  not  for  ostentation,  nor  for 
the  gratification  of  a  self-righteous  spirit,  but  for 
the  honouring  of  God,  and  the  attainment  of  his 
blessing  ;  will  all  contribute  to  testify,  that  you  are 
*'  led  of  the  Spirit,"  and  not  led  to  "  fulfil  the  works 
of  the  flesh."  If,  in  your  thoughts  in  secret,  and 
in  seasons  of  devotion,  you  are  deeply  conscious 
of  the  presence  of  God's  Spirit,  and  of  his  intimate 
acquaintance  with  your  heart ;  if  you  earnestly 
desire  and  entreat  him  to  make  you  his  temple, 
and  to  dwell  in  you  forever;  if  you  honour  him, 
love  him,  wrestle  in  prayer  for  his  influence,  and 
yield  yourself  to  his  motions,  which  are  all  pure 
and  heavenly,  and  may  be  discriminated  by  these 
characters ;  then  you  may  confidently  hope  that 
he  has  undertaken  the  regeneration  of  your  soul; 
and  because  you  are  led  by  him,  you  may  hum- 
bly conclude  that  you  are  among  the  sons  of  God. 
But  attribute  none  of  your  affections  or  inclina- 
tions to  him,  except  such  as  lead  practically  to 
holiness,  to  faith  in  Christ,  love  to  God,  and  an 
increase  of  those  fruits  of  the  Spirit  mentioned  in 
Gal.  V.  22 — 26,  as  marking  those  that  belong  to 
Christ.  Consider  all  these  points  calmly  and  can- 
didly. Do  not  rashly  or  hastily  conclude  that  you 
possess  these  signs  ;  and  do  not  deny  or  disparage 
them  if  they  really  appear.  Better  were  it,  how- 
ever, that  you  should  entertain  doubts  of  your  con- 
version, than  presume  upon  evidences  that  are  nor 
practically  exhibited,  or  suppose  signs  which  do 


THE    HARES    OF    CONVERSION'.  121 

not  exist.  The  doubt  might  keep  you  in  suspense 
and  pain;  might  prevent  you  from  honouring  the 
Spirit  of  God  for  what  he  has  done  in  you  ;  but 
the  presumption  that  should  take  for  granted  an 
affection  that  never  really  existed  in  the  soul, 
would  betray  you  into  a  false  hope,  and  make  you 
satisfied  with  an  imaginary  state,  which,  after  all, 
might  prove  one  of  unregeneracy  and  impenitence. 
6.  A  state  of  conversion  may  be  further  evi- 
denced by  your  correct  apprehension  of  the  nature 
of  Christ's  salvation,  connected  with  your  cordial 
reception  of  it,  unaltered,  undiminished  and  un- 
adulterated. Is  the  fervent,  fixed  desire  of  your 
hecrt  directed  towards  this  particular  salvation 
which  you  find  described  in  the  word  of  God  !  I 
lay  stress  upon  this  particular  salvation,  and  upon 
the  reception  of  it  entirely  and  cordially,  because 
it  is  no  certain  sign  simply  to  desire  salvation. 
Most  persons  will  say  they  desire  to  go  to  heaven, 
and  to  be  saved  from  the  consequence  of  sin  ;  but, 
at  the  same  time,  a  large  number  of  such  have  no 
adequate  or  scriptural  conception  of  the  salvation 
provided  in  the  gospel.  Thousands  would  be 
glad  to  be  saved  from  the  fear  of  hell,  who  have 
no  wish  to  be  made  new  creatures,  to  be  delivered 
from  the  love  of  the  world,  the  dominion  of  sin, 
and  made  meet  for  heaven  by  being  made  holy. 
A  just  apprehension  of  the  salvation  Christ  has 
wrought  out  for  us,  and  of  the  salvation  he  works 
in  us,  is  essential  to  its  right  reception.  Christ 
saves  none  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  who  are  not 
r^aved  from  the  power  of  sin.  If,  therefore,  the 
gospel  be  rightly  understood  by  you,  and  if,  seeing 
it  in  its  own  light,  it  appears  to  you  precisely  such 
as  you  need,  and  such  as  you  can,  not  only  without 
hesitation,  but  with  fervent  gratitude  and  love, 
11 


123  THE    MARES    OF    CONVERSION. 

assent  to,  accept  and  embrace ;  if  you  can  give 
yourself  up  to  it,  to  be  guided,  governed,  and 
transformed  by  it,  that  thereby  you  may  become 
meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light ; 
then  may  you  hope  that  *'  flesh  and  blood  hath  not 
revealed  it  unto  thee,"  but  your  "Father  which 
is  in  heaven."* 

7.  If  you  have  experienced  conversion,  then, 
you  have  undergone,  and  will  be  able  to  trace,  a 
great  change  in  your  motives,  and  in  the  ends  and 
aims  of  your  actions.  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity 
against  God.  It  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God. 
All  its  motives  are  either  derived  from  worldly 
interests,  or  are  self-righteous.  An  unconverted 
man  may  do  some  actions  externally  good,  and 
practise  some  self-denial ;  but  it  is  to  place  these 
as  a  counterbalance  to  sin,  or  as  a  price  for  future 
felicity.  The  high  and  pure  motive  of  love  to 
holiness  because  it  is  agreeable  to  the  will  of  God ; 
the  hatred  of  sin  because  He  hates  it,  and  because 
it  is  in  itself  degrading  and  destructive  ;  the  com- 
manding impulse  to  live  to  the  glory  of  God,  and 
to  identify  ourselves  with  his  righteous  cause, 
against  sin,  and  Satan,  and  the  world;  all  these 
are  introduced  into  the  heart  of  a  sinner  by  the 
grace  of  God,  and,  wherever  they  appear,  are  signs 
of  conversion.  "Ye  are  bought  with  a  price  : 
therefore  glorify  God  in  your  body  and  in  your 
spirit,  which  are  God's. "t  The  soul  that  is  truly 
converted  is  quickened  to  a  sense  of  this  command- 
ing obligation.  It  is  no  burden  or  task  to  submit 
to  it  and  carry  it  out  in  practice,  but  a  real  plea- 
sure. "Ye  were  the  servants  of  sin,  but  ye  have 
obeyed  from  the  heart  that  form  of  doctrine  which 
was  delivered  you."i:  "None  of  us"  (that  is,  no 
Christian)  "  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to 


•  Malt.  XVI.  17.         1 1  Cor.  vi.  20.         4  Kom.  vi.  17. 


THE    MARKS    OF    CONVERSION.  123 

himself.  For  whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the 
Lord  ;  and  whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord  : 
vv'hether  we  live  therefore,  or  die,  we  are  the 
Lord's."* 

It  must  be  felt  by  us,  that  Jesus  Christ  has  a  just 
and  a  first  claim;  and  if  that  be  not  inwardly  and 
deeply  recognised,  then  there  must  be  some  other 
object  that  is  first  and  supreme — that  is  the  idol 
of  our  heart ;  and  while  that  is  worshipped,  the  love 
of  Christ  is  not  in  us. 

It  may  be  proper  to  observe,  in  concluding  this 
part  of  the  work,  that  several  other  marks  of  con- 
version might  have  been  named,  which  may, 
however,  be  understood  as  included  in  some  of 
those  that  have  been  noticed.  We  have  studied 
brevity,  because  our  limits  would  not  allow  us  to 
go  more  fully  into  the  subject.  At  the  same 
time  we  wish  to  admonish  the  reader,  that  his 
anxiety,  in  the  first  instance,  should  rather  be  di- 
rected to  conversion  itself  than  to  its  proper  signs. 
The  work,  as  a  whole,  is  written  for  the  uncon- 
verted ;  and  though  this  chapter  may  more  imme- 
diately concern  the  converted,  and  minister  to 
their  consolation  and  encouragement,  yet  the  dis- 
covery which  others  may  make,  that  they  possess 
none  of  these  marks,  may,  by  the  divine  blessing, 
render  this  chapter  equally  serviceable  to  them, 
by  convincing  them  that  they  are  yet  in  an  un- 
converted state,  and  urgently  need  that  very  con- 
version which  the  work,  at  large,  is  intended  to 
explain  and  enforce.  This  chapter,  therefore,  is 
designed  for  both  classes  of  readers,  and  happy 
will  the  writer  be  if  they  should  derive  benefit 
from  the  perusal. 

*  Rom.  xiv.  7,  8. 


PART  II. 

PARTICULAR  CASES  CONSIDERED    OF  THOSE 
THAT  NEED  CONVERSION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER. 

It  is  but  too  evident,  that  many  of  those  who  are 
in  an  unconverted  state  are,  literally,  disbelievers 
of  the  word  of  God.  Whether  their  disbelief  is 
occasioned  by  what  appears  to  them  the  too  great 
strictness  and  severity  of  that  word,  or  by  the  very 
fact  of  its  requiring  that  sort  of  conversion  which 
is  so  unacceptable  to  them,  or  whether  it  is  up- 
held by  what  they  consider  insufficient  evidence 
of  divine  authority,  is  not  the  point  at  present  to 
be  considered;  but,  simply,  the  fact  that  they  do 
not  submit  to  the  authority  of  revelation,  and  do 
not  admit  that  they  are  under  any  imperative 
obligation  to  submit  to  it. 

That  there  should  be  such  cases  does  not  sur- 
prise us.  Their  occurrence  confirms  the  truth  of 
that  volume  which  clearly  foretells  the  repugnance 
of  human  nature  to  its  truths,  and  predicts  both 
the  determined  enmity  of  the  heart,  and  the  ma- 
lignant sophistry  to  which  it  has  recourse  for  the 
vindication  of  its  disbelief.  Why  most  infidels 
reject  the  Bible  is  sufficiently  obvious,  in  the  pre- 
ference which  they  show  for  both  a  lawlessness 
of  mind  and  a  lawlessness  of  life.  Their  difficul- 
ties do  not  so  much  respect  the  question  of  the 
evidences  as  the  question  of  its  nature ;  they 
124 


THE    UNBELIEVER   AND    CAVILLER.  125 

would  soon  perceive  the  weight  of  evidence,  if 
they  felt  no  objection  to  the  purity  and  spirituality 
of  the  gospel.  If  the  Bible  were  not  opposed  to 
sin,  no  man  would  be  opposed  to  the  Bible.  They 
would  entertain  not  a  moment's  hostility  to  its 
claims,  if  it  did  not  manifest  hostility  to  their 
corruptions.  I  do  not  intend  here  to  conceal  the 
fact,  that  some  unbelievers  profess  to  have 
rational  arguments  against  the  Bible  ;  but,  in  so 
far  as  reason  is  concerned  in  their  unbelief,  they 
are  either  false  conclusions  from  inadequate  and 
partial  knowledge,  or  they  are  mere  covers  and 
subterfuges  for  the  depravity  of  the  heart.  It  is 
quite  an  impossibility  that  pure  and  unsophis- 
ticated reason  should  ever  conclude  against  the 
authority  of  revelation.  The  eye  might  as  soon 
conclude  against  the  light  of  the  sun,  denying 
that  it  is  light,  that  it  can  perceive  it,  or  that  it  is 
pleasurable.  A  person  who  had  been  very  much 
connected  with  unbelievers  and  infidels,  was 
taken  dangerously  ill ;  and  feeling  that  he  could 
not  recover,  became  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  his 
soul.  His  infidel  principles  gave  him  no  com- 
fort. He  began,  for  the  first  time,  to  examine 
into  the  Christian  religion.  He  embraced  it,  and 
found  it  to  be  the  power  of  God  to  his  salvation, 
enabling  him  to  triumph  over  the  fear  of  death. 
In  the  mean  time,  his  infidel  friends,  hearing 
of  his  sickness,  and  that  he  was  not  likely  to  re- 
cover, showed  a  degree  of  feeling  and  integrity, 
which  it  was  hoped  might  prove  the  first  step 
towards  their  conversion.  They  were  not  aware 
that  their  dying  friend  had  become  a  Christian. 
They  called  to  see  him,  and  actually  told  him  that 
they  came  on  purpose  to  advise  him  now  to  em- 
brace Christianity ;  "  because,"  said  they,  "  if  it  be 
11* 


126  THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER. 

false,  it  can  do  you  no  harm ;  but  if  it  should  prove 
true,  you  will  be  a  great  gainer."  This  was  the 
united  advice  of  a  number  of  unbelievers  to  their 
dying  friend.  What  a  slender  basis,  then,  must 
they  have  had  for  their  objections  !  How  trifling 
did  those  objections  appear  when  weighed  against 
the  hope  of  eternal  felicity !  But  it  is  not  my  in- 
tention to  argue  the  question  of  evidence  with  the 
reason  of  the  unbeliever.  I  rather  wish  to  put  it 
to  each  reader  in  that  state,  whether  he  is  not  con- 
scious of  an  inward  dislike  to  Christianity  first  of 
all ;  and  whether  it  is  not  that  dislike  which  has 
really  stimulated  him  to  seek  for  or  invent  ob- 
jections, to  hail  the  discovery  of  them  with  satis- 
faction, and  slight  arguments  in  its  favour ;  and 
whether,  therefore,  he  may  not  rather  find  the 
source  of  all  his  unbelief  in  the  depravity  of  his 
own  heart,  than  in  any  lack  of  weight  in  the  evi- 
dences of  revelation. 

Let  such  an  unbeliever,  if  such  a  one  perchance 
reads  these  pages,  reflect  upon  the  moral  guilt  of 
so  treating  the  book  which  claims  to  be  of  divine 
inspiration.  Let  him  but  suppose  that  such  guilt 
may  be  chargeable  upon  hitn.  He  cannot  but 
know  that  human  nature  is  corrupt  and  preju- 
diced ;  that  his  own  may  be  so  in  this  case  ;  and 
that,  after  all,  what  he  has  taken  for  a  defect  of 
evidence  in  revelation,  may,  possibly,  be  nothing 
but  the  repugnance  of  his  own  heart  to  its  truth  ; 
which,  he  must  admit,  is  no  reason  for  rejecting  it, 
and  which,  indeed,  becomes  an  additional  argu- 
ment why  he  should  receive  it,  because  this  de- 
pravity of  his  heart  is  itself  essentially  evil,  and  he 
is  conscious  that  it  is  so  ;  and,  further,  because  the 
revelation  he  has  rejected  condemns  notliing  in  sin 
butv/hat  his  own  mind  may  readily  perceive  to  be 


THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER.  127 

evil.  Hence,  he  ought  to  observe  the  very  serious 
position  in  which  he  is  placed,  if,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  depravity,  or  prejudices  excited  by  de- 
pravity, he  rejects  the  authority  of  his  Maker.  If 
hecansuppose  that  he  is  really  in  such  asituation — 
and  he  cannot  affirm  that  it  is  at  all  impossible,  or 
even  improbable — surely  he  will,  then,  admit  that 
his  case  requires  the  most  serious  and  grave  con- 
sideration ;  since,  by  resisting-  the  truth  of  God, 
and  rejecting  what  is  obviously  worthy  of  God's 
purity,  and  sustained  by  divine  authority,  he  may 
be  incurring  the  awful  displeasure  which,  he  must 
readily  admit,  the  supreme  Being  feels  towards 
finite  creatures  who  resist  his  will,  and  thrust  from 
them  his  most  precious  gifts.  The  very  thought 
that  he  may  be  thus  wickedly  hardening  himself 
against  God,  and  contending  with  his  Maker, 
ought,  surely,  to  lead  him  to  pause,  and  impose 
upon  himself  the  duty  of  a  most  faithful  and  close 
scrutiny  of  his  own  heart.  He  ought,  as  a  rational 
creature,  to  shrink  with  horror  from  the  thought 
of  a  wicked  contempt  or  defiance  of  God.  He 
would  not,  if  a  father,  tolerate  for  a  moment  a  pa- 
rallel defiance  from  one  of  his  own  little  children  ; 
and  j-et  how  much  nearer  do  his  children  approach 
to  an  equality  with  himself  than  he  does  to  an 
equality  with  God!  He  must,  therefore,  admit, 
that  if  he  is  guilty  of  rejecting  God's  commands, 
he  stands  exposed  to  the  utmost  peril  of  eternal 
misery.  The  very  possibility  of  his  sinking  into 
such  a  fearful  condemnation  demands  of  him  a 
serious  review  of  the  state  of  his  heart ;  and  to  that 
I  now  call  him,  forewarning  him  that,  if  he  shrinks 
from  it,  and  absolutely  declines  it,  he  virtually 
admits  the  charge  of  prejudice  to  be  true,  and  in 
his   own   conscience    must    be   self-condemned ; 


128  THE    UNBELIEVEPw   AND   CATILLER. 

and  therefore,  in  such  a  condemnation,  he  may- 
find  the  matter  and  the  foundation  of  a  far  more 
serious  and  awful  condemnation  yet  to  come. 
As,  therefore,  he  is  a  man  of  reason  and  feeling-, 
so  gifted  by  Providence  as  to  foresee  impendini^ 
evil  and  guard  against  it,  he  is  seriously  and  af- 
fectionately forewarned  to  use  his  reason  and  re- 
flection in  thoroughly  investigating  his  own  case, 
that  he  may  not  bring  upon  himself  that  final 
condemnation  which  such  delinquency  deserves. 
lie  cannot  be  insensible  to  the  fact,  that  human 
nature  does  include,  and  frequently  displays  great 
moral  pravity.  He  perceives  it,  and  condemns 
it  in  many  instances,  in  his  daily  intercourse  with 
his  fellow-men.  He  cannot  suppose  himself 
altogether  exempted  from  the  like  depravity; 
and  if  it  is  constantly  exhibited  in  the  social  in- 
tercourse of  men  with  each  other,  he  cannot 
doubt  that  it  may  display  itself  in  his  own  con- 
duct towards  the  supreme  moral  Governor:  nor, 
indeed,  can  it  be  denied  that  the  very  wicked- 
ness which  is  perpetrated  first  against  man,  is  vir- 
tually directed  against  God,  because  it  is  against 
his  will,  and  from  that  circumstance  derives  a  far 
higher  character  of  guilt  and  demerit  than  from 
its  being  directed  merely  against  man.  Hence, 
every  act  of  rebellion  against  the  divine  laws, 
w^hether  laws  of  nature  or  laws  of  revelation, 
must  be  a  matter  of  far  more  serious  conse- 
quence than  acts  of  immorality  against  the  rights 
of  our  fellow-creatures,  considered  simply  as  done 
against  finite  beings,  who  are  our  equals,  or  against 
the  laws  of  society. 

The  unbeliever  must  admit,  further,  that  great 
numbers  of  those  who  once  entertained  the 
strongest,  and,  as  they  thought,  the  best-founded 


THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER.  129 

objections  to  revelation,  have,  upon  more  close 
and  serious  thoughts,  detected  the  true  seat  of  their 
disbelief,  and  have  confessed  that  they  were  under 
the  influence  of  a  prejudice,  arising  almost  exclu- 
sively from  their  dislike  of  the  gospel.  They  have 
openly  condemned  themselves  for  rejecting,  under 
the  influence  of  this  depravity,  what  they  subse- 
quently found  was  so  much  for  their  benefit,  their 
moral  improvement  and  happiness.  They  have 
-not  been  ashamed  to  acknowledge,  that  it  was  th'j 
wickedness  of  their  own  hearts  that  made  them 
dislike  and  reject  the  gospel ;  and  that,  as  soon  as 
they  were  led  to  suspect,  and  by  degrees  to  feel 
the  depravity  of  their  nature,  they  immediately 
began  to  perceive  the  ample  evidence  of  divine 
authority  in  the  Bible  :  thus  showing  that  the  only 
true  source  of  their  infidelity  was  the  repugnance 
of  a  sinful  and  revolted  nature  to  the  authority  of 
those  precepts,  which  are  infinitely  pure  and  per- 
fect, because  they  are  of  God.  Now,  what  has 
taken  place  in  hundreds  and  thousands  of  instances 
of  this  kind,  corroborated  as  it  is,  moreover,  by  the 
sentiment,  of  which  every  converted  person  is  an 
illustration,  that,  while  in  a  state  of  unconversion, 
they  felt  strong  propensities  to  disbelieve  and  deny 
the  Bible  altogether ;  and  by  the  existence  of  such 
a  bias  in  human  nature  generally,  of  which  all  the 
unconverted,  most  probably,  are  conscious,  that 
they  all  secretly  wish  to  find  the  Bible  false  ;  these, 
taken  all  together,  may  make  it  certain,  and  ought 
to  convince  you,  if  you  are  an  unbeliever,  that 
there  does  prevail,  to  a  fearful  extent,  a  prejudice 
against  God's  word,  which  has  its  sole  root  in  the 
depravity  of  the  human  heart.  The  Bible  is  both 
too  good  for  such  as  they  are,  and  they  themselves 
are  too  wicked  to  agree  with  it :  hence  the  opposi- 


130  THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER. 

tion ;  and  hence,  too,  the  urgent  necessity  for  a 
change  in  them — a  thorough  change  of  their  heart, 
which  is  conversion.  This  change  must  take  place 
in  us,  to  bring  us  ujito  harmony  with  the  will  and 
law  of  God;  for  we  may  be  quite  sure,  neither 
God  nor  his  word  can  ever  undergo  any  change, 
much  less  such  a  one  as  might  bring  that  word 
more  into  harmony  with  our  corrupt  and  perverse 
hearts. 

Is  there  not,  then,  a  sufficient  ground  in  the 
fact  of  your  own  depravity,  which  I  assume  you 
cannot  before  God  deny;  in  the  unquestionable 
moral  excellence  of  the  gospel  doctrine,  and  in  the 
lamentable  fact  of  your  prejudice  against  it;  is 
there  not  in  these  things  sufficient  ground  serious- 
ly to  call  upon  you  to  examine  into  the  state  of 
your  own  heart  ?  Suffer  one  who  can  have,  in  this 
appeal  to  you,  no  motive  but  that  of  your  best 
interest,  solemnly  to  charge  you  to  let  conscience 
freely  and  faithfully  perform  its  office.  You  know 
that  you  have  depraved  desires  and  affections : 
that  you  have  often  violated  your  own  conscien- 
tious convictions  of  right  and  purity — have  been 
sensible  of  many  sinful  thoughts,  words,  and  ac- 
tions ;  and  must  know  that  you  have  treated  the 
Bible  with  an  indifference,  a  scorn,  or  even  a 
hatred,  which,  upon  the  supposition  of  its  being 
God's  word,  must  be  exceedingly  displeasing  to 
Him.  You  must,  further,  be  conscious  that  you 
have  never  entered  calmly,  candidly,  and  serious- 
ly into  the  examination  of  its  evidences — perhaps 
never  read  it  through,  nor  any  of  the  numerous 
volumes  which  have  been  written  to  display  and 
state  its  evidences :  whereas  you  have,  on  the 
other  hand,  read  books  written  to  revile  it,  and 
have  gladly  caught  at  any  apparently  formidable 


THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER.  131 

or  plausible  objections  which  you  have  heard  from 
unbelievers,  and,  without  seriously  examining, 
have  taken  them  to  be  unanswerable.  You  have 
often  received  suggestions,  or  sought  for  them 
eagerly,  to  support  you  in  your  infidelity  ;  but 
never  consulted  any  person  well  qualified  to  re- 
solve your  doubts,  explain  your  supposed  difficul- 
ties, and  lead  you  into  a  full  and  clear  view  of  the 
arguments  in  favour  of  the  Bible  ;  and,  in  all  this, 
you  have  displayed  a  heart  far  more  inclined  to 
fall  in  with  the  dogmas  of  infidelity,  than  to  do 
justice  to  the  claims  of  revelation. 

All  this  shows  that  your  heart  is  in  a  corrupt 
state  ;  that  you  are  not  prepared  to  receive  the 
truth  in  the  love  of  it ;  that  you  have  dishonestly 
avoided  it,  and  shunned  the  change  which  it  en- 
forces. You  have  been  cleaving  to  your  infidel 
opinions,  not  because  they  were  really  more  evi- 
dently true  than  the  contrary,  but  because  they 
have  served  to  screen  you  from  the  condemnation 
denounced  in  the  Bible  upon  sin  ;  and  because  you 
have  found  it  convenient  to  profess  yourself  an 
unbeliever  in  order  to  keep  from  distressing  qualms 
of  conscience.  You  know  that  you  have  not  de- 
sired supremely,  perhaps  not  at  all,  to  have  your 
will  brought  into  accordance  with  the  divine  will. 
You  must  be  conscious  that  you  have  not  desired 
nor  sought  that  moral  purity,  that  love  of  God, 
without  which  you  can  neither  hope  to  please  him, 
nor  to  live  forever  with  him  ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
have  adopted  any  opinions  which  seemed  to  afford 
license  and  irresponsible  hberty  to  your  corrupt 
nature.  You  know  that  any  opinions,  no  matter 
how  crude,  inconsistent,  and  unfounded,  which 
did  but  seem  to  release  you  from  all  ideas  of  re- 
sponsibility to  any  moral  rule,  or  any  supreme 


132  THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER. 

Governor,  were  favourably  received  by  you.  You 
may  readily  perceive  that  you  have  no  foundation 
for  your  infidel  opinions  but  the  dictates  of  men, 
who  can  show  as  little  foundation  for  their  doc- 
trines as  yourself.  You  must  know,  or  may  know, 
that  in  receiving  these  opinions  you  have  trusted 
men  not  trustworthy,  men  of  small  knowledge 
and  rash  judgments  and  bad  characters  ;  and  that 
such  are  the  great  mass  of  professed  infidels. 
You  must  know  that  the  generality  of  these  are 
men  of  corrupt  morals,  of  violent  passions  and 
evil  tempers  ;  who  can  scarcely  trust  each  other, 
and  are  constantly  fluctuating  in  their  views,  and 
possessed  of  little  that  can  be  considered  fixed  and 
settled  opinion,  except  their  common  dislike  of 
the  Bible,  and  their  wish  to  be  free  from  all  moral 
restraints.  You  must  know  that  an  honourable 
and  virtuous  character  is  an  exception  among 
them,  and  that  the  mass  of  them  are  any  thing  but 
honourable  and  respectable ;  that  they  are  persons 
whom  you  cannot  permanently  esteem  or  trust, 
and  that  you  would  not  yourself  seriously  wish 
your  wife  or  your  children  to  embrace  their 
opinions  and  follow  their  practices.  You  must 
have  perceived  that  almost  all  pre-eminently 
vicious  persons  profess  infidelity ;  that  there  is  a 
most  strong  and  marked  affinity  between  infidelity 
and  immorality;  and  that  scarcely  any  one  be- 
comes systematically,  openly  and  daringly  wicked, 
until  he  has  cast  off  the  authority  of  the  Bible, 
and  declared  himself  an  unbeliever.  Surely  this 
undeniable  fact  should  make  you  suspicious  of 
this  harmony,  this  conjunction  between  the  two. 

Hence,  then,  you  must,  or,  at  least,  ought  to 
feel,  that  your  association  with  such,  your  agree- 
ment with  them,  is  a  matter  that  calls  for  your 


THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER.  133 

most  serious  examination — an  examination  which 
oug-ht,  in  particular,  to  regard  this  question : 
whether  it  is  not  the  depravity  of  your  heart 
which  has  made  them  agreeable  to  you,  and  their 
opinions  welcome? 

Surely  you  cannot  deny,  that  it  avouM  be  for 
the  good  of  your  soul  to  embrace  the  glorious 
prospects  of  Christianity — that  you  can  find 
nothing  in  infidelity  to  be  compared  with  them. 
The  system  has  nothing  to  offer  you  beyond  a 
blank,  an  absolute  and  eternal  blank,  and  a  license, 
an  impunity  to  your  depraved  nature,  for  this  life, 
a  mere  jubilee  to  your  animalism.  Think  whether 
this  is,  or  can  be,  in  any  sense  worthy  of  a  rational, 
an  intellectual  nature,  capable,  as  it  undoubtedly 
is,  of  the  pure  and  seraphic  joys  of  true  religion. 
Think,  again,  of  the  slender  ground  on  which  your 
opinions  rest;  and  if  that  ground  should  prove 
false,  how  irreparable  will  be  the  dilemma  into 
which  you  will  fall !  The  believer  in  Christianity 
can  lose  nothing  ;  for  if  he  is  wrong,  he  is  as  well 
off  as  you  ;  and  if  he  is  right,  and  you  wrong,  then 
you  forfeit  every  hope  and  every  joy,  and  fall  un- 
der the  heavy  condemnation  of  your  Maker's 
displeasure.  Consider  what  it  is  that  Christianity 
would  enforce  upon  you,  and  imagine  what  sort 
of  a  character  it  aims  to  form,  what  duties  it  calls 
you  to  discharge,  and  what  prospects  it  sets  before 
you,  and  judge  whether  there  is  in  them  any  thing 
to  which  sober  reason  can  object.  You  are  re 
quired  by  it  to  love  God  with  all  your  heart,  and 
3'our  neighbour  as  yourself.  Is  there  in  this  any 
thing  objectionable  ?  Does  it  not,  rather,  com- 
mend itself  to  every  reasonable  being  who  admits 
that  there  is  a  God,  and  who  allows  that  the  whole 
human  family  are  equally  his  care?  Consider, 
13 


134  THE    UNBELIEVER   AND    CAVILLER. 

further,  that  the  peculiarities  of  Christianity — the 
doctrines  of  repentance  and  of  forgiveness  of  sins 
through  the  intervention  of  a  divine  Mediator— 
really  contain  nothing  irrational,  but  seem  to  be 
perfectly  adapted  to  the  consciousness  of  moral 
imperfection  which  we  all  have ;  and  involve 
neither  any  thing  unreasonable  nor  unjust,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  meet  our  guihy  and  helpless  nature 
with  assisting  grace  and  pardoning  mercy.  Fur- 
ther, that  Christianity,  in  requiring  conversion  and 
a  change  of  heart,  as  essential  to  your  acceptance 
with  your  Maker  and  your  final  happiness,  is  in 
perfect  accordance  with  the  great  fact,  of  which 
our  ow^n  hearts,  as  well  as  the  state  of  things 
around  us,  afford  abundant  evidence — that  we  are 
a  race  of  fallen,  guilt)s  and  erring  creatures.  Rea- 
son itself  assures  us,  that  an  agreement  of  our  moral 
nature  w^ith  the  moral  nature  of  God  must  be  an 
essential  condition  of  our  happiness,  both  in  this  life 
and  in  that  which  is  to  come.  Your  own  experi- 
ence will  afford  sufficient  proof,  both  in  your  suffer- 
ings of  body  and  your  afflictions  and  embarrass- 
ments of  mind ;  in  the  contrariety  between  your 
judgment  and  your  passions,  your  conscience  and 
your  inclinations;  that  you  need  a  change,  a  radi- 
cal and  entire  change  of  heart,  to  bring  you  into  a 
state  of  accordance  with  the  will  and  nature  of  your 
Creator.  And  surely  you  can  never  hope  to  at- 
tain to  immortal  life,  while  you  continue  uncon- 
scious of  that  harmony  of  will  and  affection ;  or 
while  you  labour  to  detach  your  mind  and  heart 
from  the  thought  of  submission  to  God  and  de- 
pendence upon  him  ?  Again,  look  at  the  miserable 
end  of  infidels ;  at  the  darkness  and  dread  of 
their  last  hours  ;  at  the  absence,  to  say  the  least, 
of  any  emotions,  any  aspirations,  or  any  prospects 


THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER.  135 

in  their  last  hours,  worthy  of  immortal  beinsfs 
about  to  pass  into  the  presence  of  their  Maker, 
and  ascend  to  their  final  state  of  being-.  Surely 
there  is  nothing  inviting,  nothing  exhilarating,  no- 
thing joyful  in  such  scenes  as  the  following,  select- 
ed out  of  many  equally  appalling.  A  respectable 
writer  says — "  Some  years  ago,  I  occasionally  met 
with  a  disciple  of  the  late  Dr.  Darwin.  He  had 
drunk  so  deeply  into  the  system  and  spirit  of  his 
master  as  to  consider  him  the  very  first  philoso- 
pher of  the  age.  I  have  heard  him  expatiate  with 
enthusiasm  on  his  writings  and  character,  and 
revile  the  Holy  Scriptures  with  all  the  vaunt  of 
vulgar  blasphemy.  A  few  months  after  my  last 
interview  with  this  gentleman,  I  heard  that  he  was 
no  more.  Struck  with  the  event,  I  was  solicitous 
to  know  how  he  died.  The  account  I  received 
•was,  that,  as  death  approached,  the  confidence  he 
had  before  expressed  in  his  deistical  opinions  for- 
sook him,  and  deep  horror  seized  his  mind.  A 
short  time  before  his  departure,  supposing  him- 
self alone,  he  was  overheard,  by  an  unobserved 
attendant,  giving  vent  to  the  agonies  of  a  tortured 
conscience.  With  despair,  he  expostulated  with 
Dr.  Darwin,  whom  he  now  reproached  as  his  de- 
ceiver; and  after  loading  his  name  with  execra- 
tions which  I  dare  not  put  on  paper,  he  closed  in 
some  such  terms  as  the  following :  Monster ! 
wretch !  Is  this  the  end  of  your  boasted  philo- 
sophy ?  Have  you  brought  me  to  this  ?" — Are 
these  the  confessions  of  infidel  philosophers  ?  If 
such  sayings  as  these  have  escaped  them  occasion- 
ally, what  convulsive  emotions  must  have  been 
hidden  in  thousands  of  hearts !  What  unexpressed 
agonies  must  have  been  felt  on  the  death-beds  of 
such  men !     Pride,  resolution,  shame,  and  a  mis- 


136  THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER. 

called  heroism,  have  no  doubt  constrained  the 
greater  part  to  conceal  the  festering  wound,  and 
to  be  silent.  But  quite  enough  has  escaped  some 
of  their  class  to  expose  the  unsoundness  of  their 
principles,  and  warn  others  against  them.  O  that 
these  heart-rending  warnings,  these  thrilling  les- 
sons, might  prove  to  you  as  a  frightful  barrier 
around  the  brink  of  that  terrible  abyss  !  You 
would  greatly  prefer  to  close  your  mortal  life 
as  Christians  do,  and  would  feel,  even  if  there 
were  no  future  reality  in  a  Christian's  hopes,  that 
his  principles  impart  in  this  life  vastly  more  feli- 
city, and  comport  better  with  the  character  of  a 
rational  and  moral  being,  than  infidelity.  You 
cannot  but  perceive  that  the  faith  of  a  Christian 
saves  him  from  an  amazing  amount  of  mental 
suffering,  which  the  unbeliever  cannot  avoid,  and 
never  does  avoid,  in  the  immediate  anticipation 
of  death.  In  every  view,  therefore,  the  change 
included  in  conversion  would  be  an  advantageous 
one  to  such  a  being  as  yourself;  and  there  is 
every  reason  why  you  should  desire  to  undergo 
it,  and  not  a  single  valid  reason  why  you  should 
resist  and  repel  it.  It  is  a  change  fraught  with  the 
most  salutary  moral  effects  upon  the  character ; 
highly  conducive  to  the  peace  and  establishment 
of  the  mind ;  and  full  of  the  purest  and  sublimest 
joy  in  the  prospect  of  quitting  this  life  and  enter- 
ing upon  another. 

But.  possibly,  you  do  not  rank  yourself  with 
direct  infidels ;  you  only  dwell  upon  doubts  and 
difficulties  which  make  you  hesitate  to  attach  full 
confidence  to  the  Bible.  Now,  without  attempt- 
ing to  vindicate  the  doctrine  of  God's  word,  or 
meet  the  particular  objections  that  individuals 
have  felt  or  imagined,  which  would  require  a 


THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER.  137 

large  space,  and  is  already  ably  done  in  many  an 
elaborate  treatise  ;  we  may  endeavour  briefly  to 
show,  that  all  the  difficulties  that  men  find  or 
fancy,  are  either  comparatively  inconsiderable,  or 
orig-inate  entirely  in  their  own  captious  spirit,  and 
would  never  be  discovered  if  they  did  not  wish  to 
find  fault.  All  ought  to  know  that  the  human 
heart  is  constantly  liable  to  prejudice,  and  that  pre- 
judice will  go  great  lengths  and  show  great  inge- 
nuity. An  unwilling  heart  never  wants  an  excuse  ; 
and  an  unbelieving  heart  rejoices  in  an  occasion  of 
stumbling  at  the  word,  being  disobedient.*  Many 
of  the  statements  of  Scripture  are  humiliating  to 
our  nature,  mortifying  to  our  pride  of  reason,  and 
hostile  to  our  love  of  sensual  gratification.  To 
borrow  an  allusion  from  the  healing  art,  we  may 
say,  the  patient  shrinks  from  the  surgeon's  knife, 
and  finds  his  medicine  nauseous.  Yet,  are  these 
things  to  be  allowed  to  influence  our  resolution 
when  the  question  relates  to  health  or  life  ?  Who 
refuses  to  submit  even  to  a  painful  operation  or 
a  disgusting  dose,  if  he  feels  convinced  that  to 
do  so  is  to  throw  away  the  last  hope  of  life  ? 
Even  the  bare  chance  of  success  makes  men 
heroes  in  suffering.  "All  that  a  man  hath  will  he 
give  for  his  life."t  How  much  more,  then,  ought 
a  man  willingly  to  bear  in  a  case  that  involves 
the  life  of  his  spirit !  He  that  can  suffer  trifling 
objections,  mere  doubts,  obscurities,  or  superficial 
blemishes,  to  prevent  him  from  embracing  the 
gospel  promise,  shows,  that  he  has  never  seriously 
felt  his  need  of  salvation,  and  never  realized  his 
situation  in  the  grasp  of  death,  without  a  hope  in 
the  mercy  of  God.  He  that  is  rioting  in  luxury, 
or  has  lost  his  appetite  by  a  surfeit,  may  loathe 

'  *  1  Pet.  ii.  S.  t  Job  ii.  4. 

12*  ' 


138  THE    UNBELIEVER   AND    CAVILLER. 

plain  fare,  and  find  a  thousand  faults  in  the  way 
in  which  it  is  served  to  him.  But  a  famishing 
man  cavils  not  at  the  dish  nor  the  cooking.  He 
seizes  upon  the  nutritious  substance.  It  gives  him 
life  and  strength.  How  trifling  does  every  cavil 
and  objection  appear,  when  it  is  considered,  that 
to  refuse  the  gospel  is  to  cast  away  the  only  hope 
of  a  sinful  man  !  The  case  before  you  is  not  be- 
tween this  hope  and  something  that  promises  as 
much,  or  is  quite  as  good,  or  nearly  as  good  ;  but 
between  this  or  nothing,  this  or  despair,  this  or 
destruction.  The  question,  therefore,  which  you 
have  to  decide  is  too  serious  for  trifling,  too  mo- 
mentous for  quibbles.  Sincerity  and  candour  are 
essential  to  a  right  determination.  Treat  it  as  a 
jury  would  a  cause,  where  the  evidence,  if  not  all 
that  every  one  could  have  wished,  is  yet  conclu- 
sive, and  if  not  quite  perfect,  yet  leaves  no  room 
for  serious  doubts.  Your  cavilling  at  the  doc- 
trines or  evidences  of  Scripture  is  at  best  but  a 
cover  for  an  unwillingness  to  admit  its  statements. 
Did  they  find  favour  in  your  eyes,  were  they  al- 
together agreeable,  your  doubts  would  disappear. 
They  would  not  weigh  a  feather  if  the  case  related 
to  a  temporal  inheritance.  You  would  be  glad  to 
take  it  upon  such  a  title.  You  would  laugh  in  the 
face  of  the  man  who  should  dare  to  allege  such 
inconsiderable  or  imaginary  defects  as  sufficient 
to  invalidate  your  title. 

Let  me,  then,  entreat  every  one  who  feels  any 
objections  or  difficulties  upon  this  subject  to  re- 
member, that  the  Bible  requires  of  him  nothing 
that  is  evil,  calls  upon  him  to  renounce  nothing 
that  is  good,  asks  him  to  believe  nothing  that  is 
irrational ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  secures  to  him 
the  highest  good  at  the  cost  of  renouncing  only 


THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER.  139 

what  is  evil.  Why,  then,  should  there  be  folt  any 
reluctance  to  admit  its  authority  ;  why  cavil  to  the 
detriment  of  your  own  soul?  Can  any  man  say 
that  it  is  not  for  his  real  interest  fully  to  admit  the 
Bible  ?  Can  any  man  say  that  he  is  not  a  loser,  a 
loser  to  an  infinite  amount,  by  hesitatino-  to  ac- 
cept it?  "There  is  one  thing-,''  said  Mrfs.  to  a 
companion  in  sin  and  skepticism,  "  which  mars 
all  the  pleasure  of  my  life."  "Ah,"  replied  the 
other,  "what  is  that?"  "  Why,  I  am  afraid  the 
Bible  is  true.  If  I  could  but  certainly  know  that 
death  is  an  eternal  sleep,  I  should  be  happy  ;  my 
joy  would  be  complete.  But  here  is  the  thorn 
that  stings  me  !  This  is  the  sword  that  pierces 
my  very  soul.  If  the  Bible  be  true,  I  am  lost  for- 
ever. Every  prospect  is  gone,  and  I  am  lost  for- 
ever !"  What  a  confession  was  this  !  Yet  it 
might  well  become  every  doubter.  AVhat  a  paltry 
happiness  is  that  which  depends  on  an  animal 
nature  !  What  a  worthless  joy  is  that  which  would 
be  completed  by  the  assurance  of  an  eternal  sleep, 
or  which  looks  for  annihilation  at  the  end  of  life  ! 
"If  the  Bible  is  true,  I  am  lost  forever!"  On 
how  weak  a  supposition,  then,  does  the  hope  of  the 
unbeliever  rest !  Surely  he  must  himself  admit 
that  the  probabilities  are  against  him  ?  Be  en- 
treated, O  doubter,  to  consider  in  what  a  predica- 
ment you  place  yourself,  if  you  renounce  the  Bible 
for  the  sake  of  a  human  notion,  or  under  the 
pressure  of  difficulties  which,  after  all,  you  must 
admit  may  be  rather  apparent  than  real ;  and 
which  derive  their  whole  force  from  some  igno- 
rance or  mistake  of  your  own ;  and  which  a  little 
more  knowledge,  or  candour,  or  reading,  might 
completely  remove.  Have  you  not  often  found  it 
so  with  other  subjects  ?     Have  you  not  observed 


140  THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER. 

many  times  how  men  alter  their  opinions  when 
they  become  better  informed,  when  they  shake  off 
prejudices,  when  they  perceive  that  their  interest 
lies  in  the  way  of  conviction  ?  Have  you  done  all 
in  your  power  to  remove  difficulties  and  to  gain 
more  knowledge  ?  Have  you  asked  instruction 
and  advice  of  those  Avho  are  convinced  of  the 
divine  authority  of  Scripture  ?  Have  you  sought 
to  be  set  right,  and  candidly  stated  your  diffi- 
culties ?  Is  it  not  worth  while  to  inquire  for  some 
wise  friend  who  might  be  able  to  remove  them  ? 
Do  not  take  it  for  granted  that  they  are  insur- 
mountable. It  is  next  to  certain  that  there  is 
nothing  new  in  them,  that  they  have  occurred  to 
others,  and  been  thoroughly  explained  to  the  con- 
viction of  the  ablest  reasoners.  Similar  attention, 
research  and  anxiety  on  your  part  to  be  right, 
may  remove  all  your  objections  and  set  your  mind 
at  rest.  Consider  the  infinite  importance  of  this 
matter.  It  is  your  salvation,  or  your  everlasting 
destruction,  which  depends  upon  your  decision. 
Ought  that  decision  to  be  made  passionately, 
hastily,  rashly,  under  the  influence  of  ignorance 
and  prejudice  ?  If  the  Bible  is  of  God,  and  you 
reject  it,  upon  the  ground  of  some  mere  cavil  at  its 
^doctrines  or  its  evidences,  you  forfeit  all  its  ad- 
vantages and  incur  all  its  awful  penalties.  You 
are  a  lost  man,  and  lost  forever.  If  your  objec- 
tion is  valid,  what  do  you  gain  by  it?  You  are 
not,  even  in  this  life,  so  happy  as  the  Christian, 
since  you  must  be  perpetually  tormented  by  the 
fear,  ihat  perhaps  the  Bible  is  true.  You  never 
can  feel  quite  sure  that  you  are  right.  It  is  im- 
possible you  should  be  certified  of  the  truth  of 
your  principles.  There  may  yet  be  evidence  be- 
hind, possessed  by  some  minds,  by  which  even 


THE    UNBELIEVER    AND    CAVILLER.  141 

you  might  be  convinced.  Are,  then,  the  advan- 
tages of  doubt,  the  pleasures  of  cavilling,  such  as 
to  justify  you,  even  to  your  own  understanding,  in 
running  such  a  fearful  risk?  Let  us  bring  the 
matter  to  the  following  test.  It  Is  low  ground  to 
assume,  and  much  higher  might  be  taken,  for  our 
appeal;  but  we  take  this,  because  it  is  most  likely 
to  be  felt  by  you  in  your  present  state  of  mind. 
It  is  merely  an  appeal  to  your  self-love  and  self- 
interest.  Yet  it  will  afford  a  test  of  your  princi- 
ples, that  may  convince  you  of  the  impolicy  and 
inexpediency  of  maintaining  them.  Imagine  your- 
self upon  that  dying  bed  which  somewhere  and 
at  some  day  awaits  you,  and  ask  yourself.  Which 
has  most  weight  noiv,  my  cavil,  or  the  Bible  ? 
Which  should  I  now  like  to  feel  true,  the  principles 
of  infidelity,  or  the  promises  of  the  Bible  ?  Which 
will  administer  the  best  support  in  my  weakness 
and  terror,  in  my  pangs  of  body,  (perhaps  of  con- 
science,) the  hope  of  immortality  supplied  by  the 
Bible,  or  the  cobweb  sophistry,  the  humaa  specu- 
lation, the  mere  imagination  of  an  eternal  sleep — 
the  perhaps  "  I  may  be  annihilated."  Which 
of  these  opposite  prospects  would  you  wish  your 
wife,  your  child,  to  entertain,  as  they  sink  into  the 
arms  of  death  ? 

Colonel  Allen,  who  had  written  several  books 
setting  forth  objections  to  the  Christian  religion, 
evinced  his  distrust  in  his  own  arguments  on  an 
occasion  that  put  him  fairly  to  the  test.  While 
once  reading  some  of  his  own  writings  to  a  friend 
who  was  on  a  visit  at  his  house,  he  received  in- 
formation that  his  daughter  was  at  the  point  of 
death.  His  lady  was  a  pious  woman,  and  had 
anxiously  instructed  her  daughter  in  the  principles 
of  Christianity.     When  the  colonel  appeared  at 


142  THE    UNBELIEVER   AND    CAVILLER 

the  bedside  of  his  daughter,  she  appealed  to  him 
thus:  "I  am  about  to  die:  shall  I  believe  in  the 
principles  you  have  taught  me,  or  shall  I  believe 
in  what  my  mother  has  taught  me  ?"  On  hearing 
this  question  he* vas  much  agitated.  Well  he  might 
be.  What  father,  though  an  infidel,  could  resist  the 
impulses  of  natural  affection,  of  conscience  and  of 
truth  at  such  a  moment?  A  deep  and  solemn] 
conflict  passed  within,  and,  after  waiting  a  few  ' 
minutes  in  silence,  h*e  replied,  "  Believe  in  what 
your  mother  has  taught  you." 

Look,  then,  I  beseech  you,  O  doubter,  look 
again  at  the  nature  of  your  difficulties,  at  the 
means  you  may  command  to  remove  them,  and  at 
the  blaze  of  evidence  which  shines  on  every  side 
and  from  every  page  of  the  Bible.  Consider  well 
the  liability  of  human  reason  to  error,  even  in  its 
vaunted  philosophy ;  and  observe  carefully  the 
subjection  of  the  human  heart  to  that  prejudice 
and  passion  which  constantly  becloud  the  eye  of 
reason ;  and  finally  consider,  how  many  doubters 
and  cavillers  like  yourself  have  at  length  dis- 
covered their  own  error  and  sin,  have  declared 
themselves  convinced  and  satisfied  that  the  book 
which  announces  salvation  is  the  word  of  eternal 
truth,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation.  Could  you 
but  be  brought,  in  like  manner,  to  perceive  the 
irresistible  evidence  of  God's  truth,  you  would 
confess  that  all  your  objections  were  but  the  light 
dust  of  the  balance,  the  mere  films  of  your  own 
diseased  vision,  which  had  concealed  from  your 
view  the  beauty  and  radiance  of  the  heavenly  lu- 
minary. Look  with  the  eye  of  faith— a  faith  that 
is  welt  warranted  by  the  evidences  of  inspiration ; 
look  to  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  and  speedily  he 
shall  arise  upon  your  benighted  heart  "with  heal- 


THE    UNDECIDED.  143 

ing  in  his  wings."*  Your  night,  dreary  and 
fearful  as  it  has  proved  to  you  thus  far,  would 
then  be  turned  into  day,  your  doubts  be  exchanged 
for  hope,  your  cavilling  turned  into  confidence 
and  thanksgiving:  for  here,  in  the  Scriptures  of 
truth,  in  the  doctrine  of  conversion,  and  here  alone, 
you  would  find  rest  to  your  soul,  in  the  hope  that 
is  full  of  immortality. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    UNDECIDED. 


There  is  a  large  class  whom  I  cannot  better 
designate  than  by  this  term,  because  they  neither 
profess  to  be  unbelievers,  nor  do  they  feel  them- 
selves entirely  bound  by  the  obligations  of  Chris- 
tianity. Their  indecision  may  relate  either  to  the 
question  at  issue  between  the  infidel  and  the  be- 
liever ;  or  they  may  feel  satisfied  that  the  Bible  is 
true  and  of  God,  but  they  may  hesitate  whether 
they  shall  become  its  disciples.  I  shall  not  here 
attempt  to  meet  the  case  of  those  who  halt  in  their 
decision  about  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  because  they 
are  to  be  convinced  by  an  examination  of  the  evi- 
dences, which  this  work  is  not  designed  to  discuss  ; 
but  I  shall  principally  address  this  chapter  to  those 
who  admit  the  divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures 
but  hesitate  to  declare  themselves  bound  to  pro 
fess  Christianity,  or  to  be  openly  on  the  Lord's 
side.  They  maintain,  as  they  suppose,  a  wise 
neutrality,  and  seem  to  vacillate  between  two 
opinions ;  or,  perhaps,  more  properly,  they  confess 

*Mal.  iv.2. 


144  THE    UNDECIDED. 

the  truth  verbally,  but  withhold  a  practical  con- 
formity to  its  precepts.  They  serve  it  with  their 
understandings,  but  withhold  their  hearts  ;  or  they 
admit  the  Bible  to  be  true,  but,  most  inconsistently, 
refuse  to  make  the  sacrifice  it  requires.  Novvy 
assuredly,  the  indecision  of  such,  their  hesitation 
to  conform  themselves  in  practice  to  that  which 
they  admit  to  be  divine,  incurs  a  high  degree  of 
criminality,  and  must  appear  to  themselves  obvi- 
ously inconsistent,  as  well  as  involve  them  in 
manifest  self-condemnation.  For  how  can  he  that 
admits  the  Bible  to  be  true  and  divine,  justify  the 
delay  of  a  single  hour  in  obeying  its  injunctions  ? 
Such  delay  or  indecision  is  palliated  by  some  per- 
sons, under  the  excuse  of  wishing  to  take  time  for 
the  consideration  of  so  important  a  step,  because 
it  would  incur  risk  or  actual  loss  ;  or  because  they 
feel  reluctant  to  lay  themselves  under  the  solemn 
obligation  which  it  involves.  They  think  that  to 
become  decided  Christians  lays  them  under  a  sort 
of  vow  or  pledge,  which  they  fear  they  might  be 
tempted  to  violate,  and  then  they  think  they  should 
incur  a  condemnation,  which  they  avoid  by  re- 
maining in  their  present  undecided  state. 

But  religious  duty  stands  quite  independent  of 
all  such  considerations,  and  the  very  strongest  of 
them  have  been  met  and  set  aside  in  those  words 
of  Christ,  '•  Whosoever  he  be  of  you  that  forsakeih 
not  all  that  he  hath,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple." '^^ 
"  Every  one  that  hath  forsaken  houses,  or  breth- 
ren, or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or 
children,  or  lands,  for  my  name's  sake,  shall  re- 
ceive an  hundredfold,  and  shall  nihcrit  everlasting 
iife."t  It  is  clear  from  these  and  similar  pas-sages, 
that  there  is  left  to  us  no  option  as  to  the  duty  of 
*  Luke  xiv.  3a.  -f  Matt.  xix.  29^^  ' 


THE    UNDECIDED.  145 

confessing  Christ  before  men.  And  it  is,  there- 
fore, a  most  serious  question,  which  those  oug^ht 
to  entertain  v/ho  decline  this  duty,  whether  they 
have  not  distinctly  rejected  the  Saviour's  authority, 
or  whether  their  faith  can  be  any  thing  more  than 
a  mere  name,  when  it  fails  to  lead  them  to  a  con- 
scientious and  entire  subjection  of  themselves  to 
the  revealed  will  of  God.  Clear  it  is  that  they  do 
not  fulfil  their  Saviour's  command;  and  it  seems 
equally  clear  that  their  hesitation  arises  from  no 
reason  which  he  will  admit,  from  none  vv'hich  even 
their  conscience,  when  properly  informed,  csn 
deem  sufficient.  They  must,  therefore,  allow  me 
to  state,  that  their  indecision  upon  this  point  argues 
a  total  insensibility  to  the  claims  of  Christ ;  and  a 
sinful  deficiency  of  that  kind  of  faith  which,  if  sin- 
cere and  divine,  would  lead  to  action,  and  to  a 
noble  braving  of  all  temporal  consequences,  and 
a  calm  committing  of  themselves  to  the  promised 
divine  support  in  carrying  out  their  profession.  I 
would  not  have  such  persons  imagine  that  they 
really  love  Christ  at  all,  if  they  are  unwilling  to 
obey  his  commands  ;  and  I  would  rather  have  them 
conclude  that  they  possess  no  faiih  beyond  the 
mere  speculative  assent  to  the  Scriptures  generally, 
than  suppose  that  a  true  and  saving  faith  could  be 
productive  of  such  gross  and  glaring  inconsistency. 
It  is,  indeed,  necessary  that  such  persons  should  be 
faithfully  forewarned  of  the  self-delusion  they  are 
practising,  and  affectionately  admonished  to  seek, 
in  connection  with  a  full  consideration  of  what 
Christ  requires,  that  divine  grace  which  would 
effectually  constrain  and  decide  their  heart  to 
yield  itself  unto  God.  Reader,  if  this  is  your 
case,  you  have,  indeed,  deep  need  of  his  grace  to 
bring  vou  to  a  decision  ;  for  without  it  vou  can 
13 


146  THE    UNDECIDED. 

liave  little  hope  that  so  weak  a  heart  will  be  suf- 
ticient  to  overcome  all  your  difficulties  ;  yet,  with 
it,  ail  those  difficulties  will  vanish  away,  and  you 
will  find  all  the  paths  of  the  Lord  plain  and 
smooth  to  those  that  walk  therein.  But  how  sad 
a  case  will  yours  be,  if,  through  a  timid  spirit,  or  a 
wavering  resolution,  or  a  want  of  confidence  in 
the  promise  of  that  very  word  you  profess  to  re- 
ceive as  divine,  you  should  be  found  to  be  that 
servant  who  knew  his  Lord's  will  and  did  it  not ; 
for  to  such  the  threatening  is,  that  he  shall  be 
beaten  with  many  stripes.'' 

There  is  another  class  of  the  undecided,  whom 
it  m.ay  be  useful  to  meet.  They  are  those  who 
profess  to  see  no  very  urgent  necessity  for  a  public 
profession  of  their  adherence  to  Christ,  beyond 
what  is  involved  in  an  occasional,  convenient  at- 
tendance upon  religious  ordinances.  They  assume 
that  they  can  be  just  as  good  Christians  by  re- 
maining as  they  are  :  and  that  if  they  rest  their 
faith  on  Christ  for  the  forgiveness  of  their  sins,  and 
live  a  moral  life,  nothing  more  can  be  reasonably 
required  of  them. 

But  all  this  evinces  very  inadequate  views  of 
Christian  principle  and  Christian  duty.  The 
parties  who  maintain  them  must  either  be  very 
ignorant  or  very  inconsiderate  ;  for  if  they  would 
but  reflect,  they  might  perceive  that,  upon  their 
principle,  the  cause  of  Christ  must  be  left  with- 
out any  systematic  support  or  any  adequate  coun- 
tenance. They  cannot  suppose  that  the  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ  admits  of  two  principles  in  the 
profession  of  it,  and  that  while  some  are  bound 
openly  to  profess  and  maintain  it,  others  may 
consistently  stand  aloof  and  withhold  their  influ- 
•  Luke  lii.  47 


THE    UNDECIDED.  147 

ence.  They  must  surely  see  and  admit  that  there 
can  be  but  one  principle  of  adhesion  for  all.  No 
duty  can  be  imposed  upon  one  class  that  is  not 
imposed  upon  another.  The  law  of  the  Lord 
must  be  a  universal  law,  and  by  it  all  must  stand. 
It  must  be  uniform  as  well  as  universal.  Therefore, 
if  any  are  obliged  to  confess  Christ  openly,  all  must 
be  obliged ;  and  if  but  one  is  exempted,  then  all 
might  be  exempted,  by  a  parity  of  reason  ;  and  if 
one  may  excuse  himself,  then  why  might  not  all, 
upon  the  same  grounds  ?  But  the  absurdity  of 
this  timid  policy  any  mind  can  detect.  Only  let  it 
be  followed  out  in  this  manner,  and  it  may  be 
readily  exposed.  Suppose  that  some  are  exempted 
from  the  duty  of  confessing  Christ;  then,  why  not 
I  ?  And  if  I,  why  not  others  ?  And  if  others,  why 
not  all  ?  And  then,  if  all,  what  is  to  become  of  that 
cause  of  truth  for  which  the  Son  of  God  bled  upon 
the  cross,  and  to  the  support  and  acknowledgment 
of  which  he  has  called  all  his  faithful  servants? 
Is  it  not,  therefore,  evident  from  this  reasoning, 
that  you  have  formed  wrong  notions  both  of  faith 
and  duty  ?  That  you  have  erred  at  the  very  outset, 
and  never  can  go  on  well  while  such  notions  pre- 
vail? It  is  important  that  you  should  review, 
even  from  its  very  foundation,  the  faith  which 
you  profess,  and  inquire  whether  you  have  not 
mistaken  even  those  first  principles  which  are 
essential  to  your  acceptance.  In  so  far  as  you-r 
profession  goes,  you  have  withheld  a  most  mate- 
rial part,  and  a  part  which  may  well  be  conceived 
to  vitiate  all  the  rest,  and  to  set  aside,  in  fact,  the 
very  claim  you  make  to  a  true  faith.  It  is  more 
likely  that  you  have  never  yet  been  converted  at 
all,  than  that  a  true  conversion  should  present 
such  an  anomaly,  such  a  palpable  inconsistency. 


148  THE    UNDECIDED. 

Your  heart,  it  is  probable,  is  not  yet  given  to  God; 
and  though  you  have  received  strong  convictions 
of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  expressed  some 
external  respect  for  its  ordinances,  yet  it  is  mani- 
fest that  you  have  withheld  from  it  that  entire 
subjection  which  it  demands,  and  are  still  hailing 
betwixt  two  opinions.  It  must  be  that  some 
worldly  and  temporal  considerations  detain  you 
from  fulfilling  the  claims  of  Christ;  for  you  could 
never  have  derived  any  warrant  from  the  gospel 
itself  to  justify  so  inefficient  and  inadequate  a 
profession  of  the  religion  of  Christ  as  that  which 
you  have  imagined  might  pass  for  a  true  surrender 
of  yourself  to  God. 

It  is  high  time  that  you  should  consider  this 
matter  in  another  light,  or  you  may  find  your 
whole  profession  no  better  than  direct,  though 
secret,  unbelief;  and  the  infidel  opposer  less  in- 
consistent than  yourself.  Hitherto  you  have  been 
evidently  thinking,  rather  of  how  little  will  do  to 
secure  to  you  an  interest  in  Christ,  and  save  you 
from  the  words  of  condemnation,  than  how  much 
you  owe  to  your  divine  Lord  and  Saviour  to  prove 
the  sincerity  of  your  love,  and  express  your  de- 
votedness  to  his  service.  Your  hesitation  is  a 
sinful  hesitation;  and  if  persisted  in,  after  it  has 
been  exposed,  will  prove  that  you  have  never  yet 
felt  the  love  of  Christ  and  your  vast  obhgations. 
Let  me,  then,  affectionately  entreat  you,  as  a  poor, 
undecided  and  timid  professor,  to  take  upon  you 
at  once  the  solemn  responsibility  from  which  you 
shrink,  and  declare  yourself  on  the  Lord's  side. 
If  you  have,  indeed,  any  faith  in  his  words  of  pro- 
mise, or  any  inclination  to  act  upon  them  as  faith- 
ful and  true,  you  will  undoubtedly  trust  him  for 
all  that  grace  which  is  necessary  to  bring  you 


THE    MISTAKEN'.  149 

through  whatever  trials  or  sacrifices  a  practical 
faith  may  involve  ;  and  if  you  have  not  that  mea- 
sure of  faith  that  enables  you  so  to  trust  him  with 
the  issue  of  any  temporal  risk,  how  can  you  infer 
that  you  have  that  faith  which  is  to  trust  him  wiili 
the  eternal  interest  of  your  soul?  How  can  you 
trust  that  his  atoning  blood  can  save  you  from  the 
denunciations  of  the  divine  law,  if  you  cannot 
believe  that  his  divine  power  can  bring  you 
through  any  of  the  adversities  of  this  present  life, 
which  you  may  incur  by  a  faithful  adherence  to 
his  cause  and  a  full  profession  of  his  name  ?  Ap- 
ply to  him  now  at  once  for  grace  to  pardon  your 
sins,  to  enable  you  to  show  your  faith  by  your 
obedience,  and  make  you  and  keep  you  "  faith- 
ful unto  death,"  that  you  may  receive  "  a  crown 
of  life."* 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    MISTAKEN. 


There  is,  undoubtedly,  a  large  class  of  persons 
included  among  the  general  professors  of  Chris- 
tianity, who  are  mistaken  in  their  vie\^'s  of  con- 
version. Most  of  these  have  been  brought  up 
from  their  infancy  under  some  sort  of  religious 
instruction,  and  have  been  habituated  to  attend 
upon  its  ordinances.  They  profess  what  may  be 
denominated  an  educational,  or  historical  faith. 
They  admire  Christianity  as  a  very  pure  and 
benevolent  religion,  undoubtedly  the  best  in  the 
world ;  but  as  to  any  change  of  heart  under  its 

*  Rev.  ii.  10. 
13- 


150  THE    MISTAKEN. 

influence,  or  any  spiritual  experience  of  its  re- 
novating power,  they  deem  it  fanaticism. 

1.  Some  of  these  consider  that  conversion 
means,  nothing-  more  than  simply  giving-  their  as- 
sent to  Christianity,  or  perceiving-  that  the  gospel 
attests  itself  to  be  a  divine  religion.  If  they  show 
it  a  decent  external  respect  and  submission,  have 
been  baptized  into  the  name  of  Christ,  and  edu- 
cated in  a  belief  of  his  religion,  they  conceive  that 
there  is  not  any  other  kind  of  conversion  which  can 
be  required  of  them.  They  would  restrict  the 
use  of  the  term  conversion  to  those  who,  having 
previously  been  heathens,  embrace  the  religion 
of  the  gospel;  or  to  such  as  had  been  infidels,  or 
grossly  vicious  characters,  and  have  renounced 
their  evil  courses. 

In  these  instances,  they  \vould  admit  that  there 
is  something  which  amounts  to  an  entire  change, 
and  would,  therefore,  account  very  properly  for 
the  use  of  the  word  conversion  in  reference  to 
them.  But,  as  to  themselves,  they  cannot  per- 
ceive any  propriety  in  requiring  conversion,  or  in 
enforcing  it  as  essential  to  their  salvation. 

Yet,  surely,  if  the  words  of  Christ  are  correct, 
these  persons  are  fearfully  mistaken.  For  nothing 
can  be  more  certain  and  clear  from  Scripture  than 
that  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles  urged  the  ne- 
cessity of  conversion  upon  many  individuals  who 
wx^rc  of  fair  religious  reputation,  and  even  esteem- 
ed among  the  most  devout,  so  far  as  an  outward 
observance  of  forms  and  ceremonies  can  go, 
but  who  gave  no  evidence  of  a  change  of  heart. 
He  said  to  the  Jews,  who  were  firm  believers  in 
the  authority  of  revelation,  and  to  his  own  dis- 
ciples, ''Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Except  ye  be  con- 
verted, and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not 


THE    MISTAKEN.  151 

enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."*  Concernino- 
the  great  body  of  professing  persons  in  that  day, 
God  had  before  testified  by  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
that  though  they  frequented  his  courts,  and  ad- 
mitted his  authority  over  them,  yet  they  drew 
near  to  him  with  their  mouths,  and  with  their 
lips  did  honour  him,  while  they  had  removed 
their  hearts  far  from  him  ;  therefore  he  denounced 
all  their  services  as  vain  and  unacceptable,  and 
their  persons  as  abominable  in  his  sight.!  Hence, 
too,  in  calling  their  attention  to  that  kingdom  of 
Christ  which  was  to  be  established  among  them, 
he  expressly  enforced  upon  them  a  change  of 
heart.  "  I  wHl  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of 
your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh. "t 
The  whole  of  our  Saviour's  ministry  among  them 
proceeded  upon  this  important  principle,  that 
mere  forms  and  privileges,  profession  and  ordi- 
nances, did  neither  constitute  nor  eiince  that 
kind  of  piety  which  he  required,  and  for  the  pro- 
motion of  which  he  enforced  the  doctrine  of  con- 
version. 

It  was  manifest  in  the  treatment  he  himself  re- 
ceived from  them,  that,  notwithstanding  all  their 
rigid  observance  of  the  law  of  Moses,  and  all  their 
glorying  in  the  only  religion  revealed  from  heaven, 
they  had  not  the  love  of  God  in  them,  and,  con- 
sequently, no  sound  claim  to  the  character  of  true 
and  spiritual  believers.  Their  rejection  of  Christ, 
and  especially  the  cruel  and  impious  manner  of 
that  rejection,  both  show,  that,  with  all  their  pre- 
tensions to  godliness,  they  were  utterly  mistaken, 
and  stood  in  need  of  an  entire  change  of  heart. 
The  case  of  Paul  before  conversion  was  precisely 
that  of  a  person  firmly  believing  in  the  authority 

*  Malt,  xviii.  3.      -{•  Isa.  xxix.  13.       t  Ezek.xxxvi.  26. 


152  THE    MISTAKEN. 

of  revelation,  zealous  for  the  religious  law  of  his 
fathers,  and  strictly  conformed  to  the  ceremonies 
of  his  religion,  and  that  a  divine  one  ;  and  yet  he 
Avas  undoubtedly  an  unconverted,  unregenerated 
man.  Now,  this  case  seems  to  make  it  certain, 
that  the  mere  profession  of  Judaism  was  not  true 
piety,  nor  a  state  of  conversion ;  and  that  it  is, 
therefore,  just  as  possible  for  a  professed  Christian 
to  be  in  an  unconverted  state  as  for  a  professed 
Jew  ;  since  both  these  forms  of  religion  may  be 
externally  professed  by  those  v\'hose  hearts  have 
never  experienced  a  change  from  the  love  of  sin 
to  the  love  of  the  divine  law,  or  from  the  love  of 
the  world  to  the  love  of  God. 

2.  There  is  another  class  of  the  mistaken,  who 
are  equally  in  danger  of  missing  a  sound  conver- 
sion. They  are  those  who  admit  that  conversion 
is  required,  and  that  it  is  essentially  a  change  of 
heart ;  but  they  conclude  that  it  has  passed  upon 
themselves,  simply  because  they  have  been  the 
subjects  of  occasional  and  partial  convictions,  or 
even  of  strong  ones ;  or,  because  they  are  still 
frequently  agitated  in  a  powerful  manner  under 
the  preaching  of  the  word.  They  have  heard  that 
a  great  change  is  included  in  conversion  ;  that  it 
is  often  accompanied  with  strong  excitement  and 
deep  inward  convictions  of  sin.  They  have  had 
some  such  impressions  wrought  upon  their  minds, 
and,  without  looking  further  into  the  subject,  they 
have  hastily  inferred  that  they  are  converted. 
But  how  superficial  and  inadequate  their  views 
are,  may  be  evinced  by  the  fact,  that  they  have 
not  become  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus ;  and 
by  observing  what  is  said  in  Scripture  concern- 
ing a  class  who   "  receive  the  word  Avith  joy,"* 

*  Luke  viii.  13. 


THE    iMISTAKEN.  153 

yet  have  no  root  in  themselves  ;  also  by  the  case 
of  Felix,  who  trembled  while  the  apostle  Paul 
reasoned  of  temperance,  righteousness,  and  judo^- 
ment  to  come  ;  •■  as  well  as  by  many,  both  in  the 
days  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  who  assented 
to  the  truth  as  preached,  and  even  felt  it  to  a 
certain  degree  in  their  hearts,  yet,  subsequently, 
lost  their  convictions  and  became  increasingly 
hardened  in  their  sinful  state.  So  that  it  is  clear 
they  never  experienced  true  and  thorough  con- 
version, though  they  were  the  subjects  of  tempo- 
rary awakenings  and  convictions. 

Let  not  the  reader,  therefore,  suppose  he  has 
undergone  the  essential  change  for  which  we  plead, 
unless  he  can  show  before  the  heart-searching  God 
that  he  is  a  new  creature,  the  opposite  of  what  he 
was  when  sin  had  the  dominion  over  him.  For  it 
is  certain,  whatever  degree  of  excitement  he  has 
felt,  or  whatever  temporary  concern  for  the  for- 
giveness of  his  sins,  or  whatever  resolutions  he 
may  have  formed  to  amend  his  life,  if  he  is  not 
really  acting  by  faith,  and  living  by  faith,  under 
the  commanding  influence  of  love  to  God  through 
Christ,  he  is  yet  an  unconverted  person,  and,  as 
such,  under  all  the  condemnation  in  which  the  un- 
pardoned and  the  guilty  are  involved.  It  behoves 
him  to  look  upon  all  he  has  taken  for  conversion 
as  mere  alarm,  or  excitement  of  natural  feeling ; 
and  however  much  he  may  think  it  resembles  the 
experience  of  the  converted  and  the  true  believer, 
he  may  rely  upon  it  there  is  as  essential  a  differ- 
ence as  between  a  shadow  and  a  substance,  a 
painted  fire  and  a  real  one.  He  has  yet  to  learn 
what  that  conversion  is,  without  which  he  can 
possess  no  scriptural  hope  of  heaven. 
*  Acis  xxiv.  25. 


154  THE    MISTAKEN. 

3.  There  are  some  who  fall  into  a  mistake  of 
another  kind.  Because  they  are  using  the  means 
ordinarily  denominated  the  means  of  grace,  they 
quiet  their  consciences,  and  comfort  themselves 
with  the  notion  that  they  arc  in  the  way  to  con- 
version. They  imagine  themselves  to  be  like  sick 
persons  in  the  hands  of  a  skilful  physician,  whose 
cure  has  already  begun.  Or,  they  are  like  travel- 
lers, who  have  entered  a  road  that  will  lead  to  a 
certain  place.  But  here  the  unconverted  is  surely 
practising  collusion  with  sin  and  unbelief.  The 
cure  is  not  yet  begun,  if  you  have  not  yet  believed 
with  the  heart ;  the  progress  is  not  yet  commenced, 
if  you  have  not  entered  at  the  "  strait  gate."  Do 
not  compare  yourself  with  the  lame  man  who  was 
waiting  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda.  No  sinner  ever 
really  waits  for  Christ.  All  such  as  do  not  at  once 
believe  with  the  heart  unto  righteousness,  are  in 
the  way  to  be  lost  instead  of  saved.  There  is  no 
greater  delusion  than  this  of  waiting  for  grace, 
or  being  in  the  way  to  be  saved.  What  would 
you  think  of  that  person,  who,  after  you  had  made 
him  some  benevolent  promise  of  a  valuable  gift, 
should  say,  I  am  in  the  w^ay  to  believe  you  ;  I  do 
not  believe  you  now,  but  I  think  I  shall  come  to 
believe  you  by  and  by?  Does  the  solemn  pledge 
of  a  benevolent  and  trutliful  person  deserve  such 
treatment  ?  How  very  absurd  and  insulting  would 
such  conduct  appear  !  How  justly  might  it  entitle 
the  insulted  party  to  say — Then,  if  you  are  only  in 
the  way  to  believe  me,  but  do  really  reject  my  pro- 
mise now,  I  shall  consent  to  no  such  an  acceptance 
of  my  kindness.  Come  to  a  point  with  me.  Either 
say  at  once  you  believe  my  word,  or  you  do  not ; 
for  I  cannot  conceive  how  you  can  be  in  the  way 
to  believe  me  at  all,  if  I  am  not  worthy  of  your 


THE    SELF-SUFFICIENT.  155 

immediate  com^dence.  The  question  then  comes 
to  this,  Is  the  gospel  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  or 
is  it  not  ?  If  it  is  admitted  to  be  in  all  respects 
worthy,  then  why  is  it  not  instantly  believed,  in  all 
its  fulness  of  grace  and  love  ?  If  it  is  not  worthy 
of  instant  credit,  it  never  will  be.  Ah,  beloved 
reader,  beware  of  deluding  yourself,  or  of  bein^; 
deluded  by  Satan,  into  the  notion  that  you  are  in 
the  way  to  believe  the  gospel,  when  you  are  really 
in  a  state  of  unbelief.  The  plain  fact  is,  and  we 
must  not  hesitate  to  announce  it,  if  you  do  not  at 
once  and  cordially  believe  the  testimony  God  has 
given  of  his  Son,  you  are  in  the  direct  way  to  be 
lost.  You  are  here,  then,  summoned  once  more, 
in  the  name  of  the  sovereign  Lord,  in  the  name 
of  the  divine  Saviour,  either  at  once  to  believe  in 
Jesus,  or  resign  that  false  notion  of  being  in  the 
way  to  believe  ;  for  if  you  cherish  it,  it  will  keep 
you  from  Christ,  instead  of  bringing  you  to  him. 
Either  now  say,  "Lord,  I  believe,"  or  resign  all 
pretensions  even  to  a  desire  to  believe,  and  admit 
that  you  are  still  in  the  bonds  of  sin  and  unbelief. 
There  is  no  medium  state  between  believing  and 
disbelieving.  If  you  do  not  heartily  believe  the 
gospel,  you  must  be  treated  as  an  unbeliever.  See, 
then,  that  your  "  being  in  the  way  to  believe"  is  all 
a  mistake. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    SELF-SUFFICIENT. 


There  is  another  class,  who  are  attempting  seri- 
ously and  earnestly  to  realize  what  they  think  the 
Scripture  means  by  conversion,  but  it  is  in  a  spirit 
of  self-sufficiency ;  they  are  labouring  to  heal  them- 


158  THE    SELF-SUFFICIENT. 

selves.  It  is  a  very  common  case,  when  persons 
become  anxious  to  obtain  salvation,  that  they  seek 
it  by  efforts  at  personal  reformation;  we  mean,  as 
to  their  external  conduct — breaking  off  bad  habits 
— abstaining  from  sinful  indulgences ;  and  con- 
necting with  these  efforts  some  directly  religious 
observances,  such  as  reading  the  Scriptures, 
prayer  and  attendance  upon  public  worship.  Now, 
upon  these  cases  we  wish  to  speak  with  caution, 
yet  with  decision  and  plainness.  So  far  as  these 
things  go,  they  are  in  themselves  goodand  co)n- 
mendable  ;  but  tliey  do  not  necessarily  include  the 
scriptural  idea  of  conversion.  They  may  all  lake 
place,  and  do  all  frequently  take  place,  without  the 
conversion  of  the  soul ;  and  if  they  have  been 
placed  by  the  awakened  mind  as  the  ground  of 
its  confidence,  as  the  realizing  of  its  notion  of 
conversion,  and  so  fill  it  with  the  false  per- 
suasion that  it  is  really  and  divinely  converted ; 
then  this  becomes  an  obstacle  to  the  true  conver- 
sion or  change  of  heart,  inasmuch  as  the  mind 
settles  down  under  this  idea  into  a  state  of  self- 
complacency,  and  thereby  is  made  deaf  to  all  fur- 
ther appeals.  It  says,  like  the  congregation  at 
Laodicea,  mentioned  in  Rev.  iii.  17,  "I  am  rich, 
and  increased  with  goods,  and  have  need  of 
nothing;"  while  the  Spirit  of  God  says  of  such, 
*'  Thou  art  wretched,  and  miserable,  and  poor,  and 
blind,  and  naked." 

Let  us  look  carefully  into  such  a  case.  You 
suppose  that,  by  attention  to  the  perfect  law  of 
God,  and  a  watchful  endeavour  on  your  part  to 
conform  to  its  requirements,  you  may  work  your- 
self gradually  into  a  tolerable,  if  not  into  a  perfect 
conformity  to  it,  so  that  you  will  be  left,  accord- 
ing to  your  own  calculation,  with  only  a  very  small 


THE    SELF-SUFFICIENT.  157 

amount  of  transgression  or  deficiency ;  against 
which  you  place,  as  a  last  resource,  the  mercy  of 
God  and  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  this  spirit 
most  persons,  under  their  first  serious  awakenings, 
go  to  work.  But,  let  me  ask,  is  this  the  full  and  free 
salvation  which  the  gospel  offers  to  sinners  ?  Was 
this  the  gospel  which  the  apostle  Paul  tauorht  ?  He 
says,  "Ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under 
grace."*  "  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemna- 
tion to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  law 
of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me 
free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death."!  "  I  was 
alive  without  the  law  once  ;  but  when  the  com- 
mandment came,  sin  revived,  and  I  died."! 
"  What  the  law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak- 
through  the  flesh,  God  sending  his  own  Son  in  the 
likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin 
in  the  flesh;  that  the  righteousness  of  the  law 
might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not  after  the 
flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit. "§  How,  then,  should 
that  law  of  God  which  was  not  given  till  after  man 
had  become  a  sinner,  and  which  can  impart 
nothing  but  the  knowledge  and  conviction  of  sin, 
become  the  means  of  giving  life  to  those  who  are 
already  under  its  sentence  of  condemnation  ?  The 
apostle  Paul  says,  "  Sin,  taking  occasion  by  the 
commandment,  wrought  in  me  all  manner  of  con- 
cupiscence."||  How,  then,  should  it  ever  work  a 
true  and  acceptable  holiness  in  you  ?  How  should 
it  enable  you  to  procure  forgiveness  for  the  sins 
already  committed  ?  Certainly,  it  never  can.  As- 
suredly, then,  you  have  been  looking  to  the  law 
of  God  for  that  which  you  should  seek  from  the 
grace  of  the  gospel ;  for  it  is  the  free  forgiveness 

*  Rom.  vi.  14.         f  Rom.  viii.  1,  3.         4:  Rom.  vii.  9. 
^  Rom.  viii.  3,  4.     Ij  Rom.  vii.  8. 

14 


158  THE    SELF-SUFFICIENT. 

of  sins  through  the  precious  blood  of  Christ  which 
can  alone  make  you,  or  any  one  else,  free  from  the 
law  of  sin  and  d^ath.  But  we  may  refer  to  the 
experience  of  those  who  have  tried  this  method  of 
procuring  health  and  life  to  their  soul.  Has  it 
succeeded?  Has  it  not  been  often  testified,  that 
every  attempt  to  sanctify  and  save  ourselves  "by 
the  deeds  of  the  law,"  instead  of  "  the  righteous- 
ness which  is  by  faith,"  has  utterly  failed  ?  Do  not 
such  attempts  at  self-renovation  prove  sources  of 
disappointment,  bondage  and  despair  ?  The  soul, 
yet  without  strength,  finds  sin  unconquerable, 
holiness  unattainable,  and  peace  disturbed  by  the 
murmurings  of  an  accusing  conscience.  And  so 
it  must  be,  because  this  is  not  God's  method  of 
saving  and  renovating  sinners  ;  so  it  must  be,  be- 
cause *'  the  law  worketh  Avrath  ;"*  but  the  word 
of  the  oath  (or  promise  of  the  gracious  covenant) 
v/hich  has  come  since  the  law,  presents  to  the  con- 
vinced, entangled  and  labouring  soul,  Christ  cruci- 
fied, as  "  made  of  God  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righte- 
ousness, and  sanctification,  and  redemption.!  This 
is  the  one  object  that  must  engage  the  faith  of  the 
awakened ;  and  till  this  is  apprehended  for  com- 
plete salvation,  there  is  neither  life  nor  grace  in 
the  soul.  He  that  works,  therefore,  for  life  and 
salvation  in  the  way  of  bringing  himself  to  a  per- 
fect obedience  to  God's  law,  is  working  in  the  fire. 
This  is  a  reason,  a  valid  reason,  and  will  forevei 
remain  such,  why  no  self-sufficient  sinner  can  be 
saved.  Every  such  person  needs  conversion  as 
much  as  the  vilest  profligate.  He  stands  upon  his 
own  obedience.  He  takes  the  lav/  as  his  founda- 
tion and  rule  cf  salvation,  forgetting  that  if  he 
"  offends  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all ;":}:  or 
*  iloxu.  iv.  15.  -j- 1  Cur.  i.  30.  4  James  ii.  10. 


THE    SELF-SUFFICIENT.  159 

that  the  same  condemnation  impends  in  the  case 
of  one  transgression  as  in  that  of  many.  Conse- 
quently, if  he  has  offended  only  in  one  point,  he 
is  a  transgressor ;  and  from  the  guih  of  that  one 
transgression  the  law  could  no  more  release  him 
than  from  ten  thousand.  Therefore,  he  still  needs, 
after  all  he  has  done  or  can  do,  a  Redeemer  from 
sin  and  guilt :  he  must  still  be  a  debtor  to  sove- 
reign grace,  or  perish  in  his  vain  effort  to  obtain 
life  by  the  law.  It  were  surely,  therefore,  better 
at  once  to  renounce  self-dependence,  and  say, 

"  I  quit  the  hopes  I  held  before, 
To  trust  the  merits  of  thy  Son." 

It  is  certain,  from  the  whole  tenor  of  the  gospel, 
that  the  salvation  of  sinners  must  be  of  God's  pure, 
undeserved  mercy,  and  through  the  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If  there  had  been  any  possi- 
bility of  a  sinner's  restoring  and  saving  himself — 
"if  there  had  been  a  law  given  which  could  have 
given  life,  verily  (justifying)  righteousness  should 
have  been  by  the  law;"*  but  then  there  would 
have  been  n-o  need  for  the  work  of  Christ.  But  if 
these  things  are  so,  does  not  the  self-sufficient 
need  conversion  ?  For  what  is  he  trying  ?  It  is  for 
salvation.  But  if  he  strives  till  the  day  of  death — 
or  if  that  were  deferred  till  the  day  of  doom — if  he 
strives  to  renew  his  heart  and  save  his  soul  by  the 
power  of  the  law  of  God,  he  will  strive  in  vain, 
and  worse  than  in  vain — it  will  but  prove  the  ag- 
gravation of  his  guilt ;  because  he  has  turned  away 
from  free  grace  to  strict  justice;  has  renounced 
Christ's  righteousness  for  his  own;  and  has  pre- 
ferred the  chance  of  saving  himself  by  his  own  ef- 
forts to  the  infallible  certainty  of  the  divine  promise. 

»  Ga!.  iii.  21. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   WORLDLING. 

Because  all  men  must  have  to  do  with  the  world 
while  in  it,  some  men  will  have  to  do  with  nothing 
else.  Our  present  business  is  with  that  numerous 
class  whose  heart  is  in  the  world,  or  who  have  the 
world  in  their  heart.  It  is  certain  from  Holy  Scrip- 
ture that  all  those  who  are  seeking  their  portion  in 
this  life  need  conversion.  And,  alas,  how  vast  is  the 
multitude  !  What  pity,  what  tender  concern,  what 
unwearied  assiduity  to  convince  them,  should  their 
imminent  danger  excite  in  all  who  understand 
true  religion !  These  lines  may  meet  the  eye  of 
some  worldlings  who  may  attempt  to  evade  their 
force,  or  their  point,  by  disclaiming  the  character 
of  worldlings.  They  may  not  be  of  this  class  or 
that ;  but  the  question  is,  do  they  not  love  the  world, 
that  is,  supremely  love  and  prefer  it,  in  some  of 
its  forms,  before  their  salvation,  their  interest 
in  the  eternal  world,  their  God  and  their  Saviour  ? 
Reader,  here  be  kind  to  yourself,  and  practise  no 
self-deception.  Did  you  ever  take  as  much  delight 
in  your  Bible  as  in  some  earthly  object  ?  Did 
you  ever  do  as  much  to  enjoy  salvation  as  you 
have  done  to  enjoy  pleasure  in  worldly  scenes  ? 
Did  you  ever  sacrifice  as  much  to  obtain  the 
knowledge  of  salvation  as  you  have  to  please 
yourself  and  others  with  earthly  things  ?  Have 
you  not  manifested  a  stronger  bias  to  the  things 
that  are  seen  and  temporal  than  to  those  that  are 
unseen  and  eternal  ?  You  may  not  be  a  worldling 
in  the  sense  of  money-getting,  or  in  the  way  of 
IGO 


THE    WORLDLING.  161 

fame  and  ambition,  or  fashion  or  gay  amuse- 
ments. You  may  not  be  a  frequenter  of  theatres, 
or  horse-races,  or  card-tables.  You  may  not  seek 
companions  at  the  inn  parlour,  nor  with  Sabbath- 
breakers,  nor  at  the  fashionable  watering-place, 
nor  at  the  ball-room.  Yet  you  may  be  a  worldling. 
You  may  frequent  a  place  of  worship,  and  yet  be 
a  worldling.  Your  friends  and  acfjuaintances  may 
be  the  choicest  of  religious  people,  and  yet  you 
may  be  a  worldling.  Your  life  may  be  in  the 
element  of  the  world.  Your  chief  pleasures  may 
arise  even  from  things  innocent  and  lawful.  Your 
portion  may  be  nothing  better  than  an  earthly 
inheritance,  or  merely  the  hope  of  gaining  one. 
And  if  so,  you  need  conversion.  How  much  more, 
if  your  conscience  clearly  convicts  you  of  loving 
something  in  this  world  more  than  you  love  any 
thing  or  any  being  out  of  this  world  !  You  know 
who  it  is  that  says,  "  He  that  loveth  father  or 
mother  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me  :  and 
he  that  loveth  son  or  daughter  more  than  me  is 
not  worthy  of  me  :  and  he  that  taketh  not  his 
cross,  and  followeth  after  me,  is  not  worthy  of 
me."*  The  same  authority  decides  the  case  of  all 
who  come  under  the  denomination  of  worldly: 
"  If  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father 
is  not  in  him.  For  all  that  is  in  the  world,  the  lust 
of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride 
of  life,  is  not  of  the  Father,  but  is  of  the  world."! 
The  glorious  and  gracious  Being  who  says,  in 
the  passage  quoted  above  from  Matt.  x.  37,  "  He 
that  loveth  father  or  mother,  son  or  daughter, 
more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me,"  has  a  supreme 
right  to  your  heart ;  but  the  world  you  so  intensely 
love  has  none.     The  language  which  he  has  there 

*  Matt.  X.  37,  38.  f  ^  John  ii.  15,  16. 

14*        ' 


162 


THE    WORLDLING. 


employed  exclusively  befits  the  mouth  of  God, 
and  1  trust  you  feel  involuntarily,  and  without 
any  argument  or  illustration,  that  it  becomes  him 
alone,  who  has  a  rig^ht  to  say,  "  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy 
strength."*  He  alone  can  judge  the  state  of  your 
heart,  whether  you  are  not  now  among  the  un- 
happy class  to  whom  he  says,  "  I  know  you,  that  \ 
ye  have  not  the  love  of  God  in  you."t  It  must, 
therefore,  be  a  situation  of  no  common  peril  to 
fall  under  his  displeasure,  and  to  feel  in  one's 
own  conscience  that  the  sentence  of  the  apostle 
Paul  cleaves  to  us:  "If  any  man  love  not  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  Anathema"  {ac- 
cursed) "  Maran-atha,"  ((he  Lord  cometh.)X 

Poor  votary  of  the  world,  in  some  or  in  any  of 
its  forms  !  what  have  you  to  say  to  all  this  ?  Let 
me  suppose  you  summoned  to  appear  and  answer 
to  the  claim  of  your  Saviour.  What  answer  would 
you  make  ?  What  answer  coidd  you  make  ?  Could 
it  be  that  of  Peter,  "  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things  ; 
thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee"§ — Could  you  say 
that  ?  No  :  your  conscience  testifies,  your  life 
shows,  that  you  have  loved  a  very  different  ob- 
ject. In  the  light  of  the  divine  presence,  the 
truth  must  appear  and  be  confessed.  It  is  cer- 
tain, then,  that  every  worldly-minded  person,  in 
whatever  form  he  has  shown  his  love  of  the  world, 
would  be  obliged  to  make  this  confession : — 
"  Lord,  if  I  must  judge  only  by  my  past  hfe,  I  fear 
I  have  shown  no  love  to  thee,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, have  loved  what  thou  hatest,  and  hated 
what  thou  lovest,"     Perhaps,  some  would  even 

*Markxii.30.  f  John  v.  12.  :t  lCor.xvi.22.  §Johuxxi.  17. 


THE    WORLDLING.  1G3 

be  ready  to  think,  if  not  to  say,  that  they  really  had 
no  wish  to  love  Jesus  Christ ;  they  see  nothing  to 
engage  their  affections  either  in  him,  or  his  reli- 
gion. Oh  that  such  could  be  persuaded  to  reflect 
upon  the  fearful  alternative  of  not  loving  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  not  being  loved  by  him  !  Oh  that 
such  would  pause  before  they  proceed  further  to 
act  out  their  dislike  of  Christ  and  his  religion  ! 
Oh  that  they  would  anticipate  the  situation  in 
w^hich  they  will  be  placed  when  the  Judge  shall 
stand  before  their  door ;  and  when  it  is  quite  cer- 
tain they  would  gladly  renounce  every  other  ob- 
ject, and  every  other  pleasure,  for  the  delight 
which  the  assurance  of  his  favour  would  impart ! 
But  if  such  delay  till  conversion  is  impossible, 
they  will  have  cause  through  eternal  ages  to  de- 
plore the  folly  that  blinded  them  to  the  love  of 
Christ  and  the  love  of  their  own  souls  ;  and  in- 
duced them  to  prefer  the  love  of  the  world,  or  the 
love  of  sin,  or  the  love  of  some  poor,  frail  fellow- 
creature,  which,  in  the  end,  has  left  them  disap- 
pointed, dissatisfied  and  lost. 

Immortal  man  or  woman  !  why  will  you  incur 
this  fearful,  this  tremendous  fate  .'  AVhy,  for  the 
sake  of  this  wretched  world,  or  any  thing  in  it, 
will  you  incur  the  anathema  of  your  Creator  and 
Saviour?  Does  any  uncertainty  attach  to  the 
issue  of  such  a  life  as  you  are  leading  ?  Is  it  not 
clear  that  your  heart  is  hostile  to  Christ,  or,  at 
least,  that  it  is  not  enraptured  with  his  love  ?  and 
if  so,  the  issue  is  not  doubtful;  you  must  perish, 
unless  you  change.  The  decree  of  Heaven  is  be- 
fore your  eyes.  The  tender  and  compassionate 
Saviour,  the  greatest  Lover  of  souls,  says  you  are 
not  worthy  of  him;  he  disclaims  you;  he  leaves 
you,  as  you  have  left  him,  to  love  the  world,  and 


164  THE    DELAYER. 

perish  with  the  world.  No :  he  does  not  yet 
leave  you,  for  he  prompts  us  to  love  you,  to  ad- 
monish yoLi,  to  reason  with  you,  to  entreat  you  to 
cease  from  pursuing  the  fleeting  shadow  of  happi- 
ness, and  embrace  the  substance  ;  to  awake  from 
mere  dreams  of  bliss,  and  enter  upon  the  real  en- 
joyment of  that  divine  love  which  is  the  true  life 
of  the  soul.  You  must  be  converted  from  the 
love  of  the  world  to  the  love  of  God.  You  must 
turn,  if  you  would  live  in  immortal  felicity  ;  or,  if 
you  persist  in  loving  the  world,  you  must  abandon 
the  hope  of  glory.     Be  converted,  or  perish. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    DELAYER. 

Some,  who  h-^.ve  perused  this  treatise  thus  far, 
have  been  ready  to  parry  all  our  remarks  with 
this  observation,  this  fatal  salvo,  this  opiate  of  the 
conscience  : — It  is  all  true,  scriptural,  important, 
excellent.  We  mean  to  be  converted :  we  are 
only  delaying  for  a  little,  and  we  think  we  have 
good  reason  for  delay.  We  shall  become  real 
Christians  at  last, — all  that  could  be  wished. 

The  fearful  import  of  these  words,  "  only  delay- 
ing a  little,"  none  of  those  who  use  them  can  tell. 
Here  lies,  effectually  hidden  from  their  view,  one 
of  the  deepest,  deadliest,  most  successful  of  all  the 
various  devices  of  Satan.  The  notion  of  delay  in 
reference  to  your  conversion  may  be  illustrated 
by  connecting  the  same  idea  with  the  presence  of 
alarming  disease  in  the  body.  There  may  be 
cases  in  common  life,  in  which  a  little  delay  can 


THE    DELAYER.  165 

do  no  harm,  and  may  do  g-ood  ;  there  may  be  some 
attacks  of  disease,  in  which  a  little  delay  might 
not  incur  danger.  But  there  are  many  others  in 
which  it  would  prove  fatal.  If  aid  does  not  arrive 
in  time,  it  may  be  of  no  avail.  Who,  then,  likes 
to  run  the  risk  of  delay,  even  in  common  attacks 
of  disorder  ?  But  every  delay  in  conversion  in- 
volves the  risk  of  perdition.  It  is  positive  infatua- 
tion to  delay  in  a  case  where  it  can  do  no  good, 
and  may  involve  irretrievable  destruction.  Why 
should  you  delay  your  conversion  ?  Have  you 
ever  tried  to  answer  this  question?  Have  you 
ever  met  with  one  good  reason  for  it  ?  Have  you 
ever  heard  of  any  one  who  had  a  good  reason  to 
give  ?  The  writer  could  tell  you  of  many  who 
have  delayed,  and  though  only  intentionally  for  a 
little  while,  yet  they  lived  to  deplore,  and  died  to 
expei^ence,  the  folly,  the  infatuation  of  dela}'. 

But  let  us  bring  this  matter  to  the  test.  There 
can  be  nothing  gained,  nothing  saved,  nothing 
made  easier  by  delay.  You  cannot  by  delay  find 
out  any  thing  to  save  your  soul  better  than  con- 
version. Who  could  dare  to  say,  that  by  delaying 
his  salvation  he  is  doing  no  wrong,  or  doing  him- 
self any  good  ?  Is  conversion  a  good  or  an  evil? 
If  it  is  a  good,  and  you  wish  for  it,  the  sooner  you 
experience  it,  the  better.  If,  without  it,  you  con- 
fess yourself  in  peril  of  damnation,  then,  to  incur 
that  peril  any  further,  is  a  species  of  folly  that  ad- 
mits no  excuse.  If,  as  you  admit,  salvation  is 
your  object,  and  an  object  of  inexpressible  import- 
ance, compared  with  which  every  thing  is  light  as 
air,  worthless  as  the  dust  beneath  your  feet,  then, 
to  delay  the  possession  or  pursuit  is  criminal  tri- 
fling, and  utterly  irreconcilable  with  rationality. 
How  would  you  judge,  if  an  earthquake  had  al- 


166  THE    DELAYER. 

ready  passed  under  the  place  of  your  abode,  if 
already  the  frag-ments  of  your  dwelling  were  begin- 
ning to  fall.  Would  you  think  it  rational  and  safe 
to  delay  a  little  longer?  Would  you  need  to  be 
admonished  from  without — Escape  instantly.  An- 
other shock  will  bring  the  entire  building  to  the 
ground?  Could  you  coolly  say  to  the  friendly 
monitor,  /  mean  to  escape,  but  I  am  only  delay- 
ing a  little,  to  finish  something,  to  bring  some- 
thing with  me?  Shall  not  that  last  warning  pre- 
vail ?  Another  moment  and  you  will  pay  dear 
for  your  delay!  No  sinner  ever  yet  intended  to 
be  lost ;  and  yet  how  many  have  been  lost  by 
delaj^  the  last  day  alone  will  reveal.  He  that  de- 
lays conversion  is  in  the  direct  way  to  be  lost.  He 
is  regardless  of  the  fact,  that  every  moment  he 
delays  he  is  resisting  God,  he  is  increasing  his  sins, 
he  is  hardening  his  heart,  he  is  placing  mor^  diffi- 
culties in  his  own  way;  he  is  tempting  God  to  cast 
him  off  altogether,  and  encouraging  Satan  to  tempt 
him  further  into  sin.  It  is  awful  to  think  of  the 
anguish  which  is  often  experienced  by  procrasti- 
nators  when  they  come  to  feel  that  they  have  de- 
layed too  long.  My  ilesh  has  trembled  when  I 
have  heard  their  piercing  shrieks,  and  seen  their 
frenzied  looks,  and  experienced  the  difficulty  of 
administering  any  wojd  of  hope,  or  of  finding  any 
promise  strong  enough  to  subdue  their  spirit. 

If  conversion  is  admitted  to  be  indispensable 
^or  a  sinner,  if  its  nature  has  been  truly,  (that  is, 
scripturally,)  described  in  the  foregoing  pages,  if 
every  one  who  only  procrastinates  a  little  feels 
the  unutterable  importance  of  that  conversion, 
how  ought  such  to  shrink  from  the  thought  of  de- 
lay, though  it  should  be  never  so  short,  since  it 
may  be,  and  most  probably  will  prove  to  be,  but 


THE  DELAYER.  167 

the  beginning  of  that  series  of  resolutions  and 
delays  which  will  end  in  final  impenitence  !  Your 
resolution  has,  perhaps,  already  been  formed  and 
broken ;  and  more  than  once  you  have  said  sin- 
cerely and  seriously,  as  before  the  eye  of  God,  "I 
will  repent  and  be  converted."  But  yet  the  re- 
solution remains  to  be  carried  into  effect,  and  that 
with  a  mind  weakened  in  its  purpose,  more  fa- 
miliar with  the  violation  of  its  vow,  and  more 
prepared  to  admit  the  renewed  force  of  those 
feelings  and  reasons  for  delay  which  have  already 
more  than  once  mastered  it  and  made  it  falter  in 
its  purpose.  There  is  a  solemn  and  appropriate 
passage  of  Scripture,  which  you  will  do  well  to 
weigh  seriously,  and  impress  immediately  upon 
your  mind  :  "  He  that,  being  often  reproved,  hard- 
eneth  his  neck,  shall  suddenly  be  destroyed,  ^fid 
that  without  remedy."*  Many,  many  sinners 
have  experienced  the  awful  truth  of  this  threaten- 
ing, and  have  lived  long  enough  in  the  habit  of 
delay  to  feel  that  they  were  given  over  of  God 
to  that  impenitency  which  they  had  dared  to  pro- 
long, by  trifling  with  the  divine  warning ;  and 
have  died  exclaiming,  with  the  Hon.  F.  Newport, 
the  noble  Altamont,  and  others,  //  is  too  late! 
But  did  you  ever  know  or  hear  of  any  one  that 
had  repented  too  soon  ?  Can  you  imagine  it  pos- 
sible that  any  one  should  ever  say  he  had  been 
converted  too  soon  ?  Do  you  think  you  shall 
ever  feel  that  ?  Is  there  not  yet  danger  that  you 
may  have  to  say,  //  is  too  late!  The  only  certain 
security  you  can  possess,  and  the  only  safegard 
against  that  danger,  is  to  repent  now,  be  convert- 
ed, turn  to  God  now ;  delay  not  another  moment, 
lest  that  should  be  a  moment  too  late !     When 

*  Prov.  xxix.  1. 


1G8  THE    CARELESS. 

the  voice  of  Noah  was  heard  preaching-  righteous- 
ness, and  predicting  the  deluge,  he  was  scorned 
and  mocked  ;  but  after  the  door  was  shut,  and  the 
rains  began  to  descend,  and  the  floods  to  cover 
the  plains  and  surround  the  hills,  many,  who  be- 
fore had  scorned,  would  fain  have  taken  refuge  in 
the  ark,  rather  than  flee  to  that  only  resort,  the 
tops  of  the  mountains,  which  their  reason  showed 
them  would  soon  be  covered.  But  it  was  too  late  ; 
God  had  shut  in  Noah,  and  in  so  doing,  had  shut 
out  the  unbelieving  and  delaying  sinners.  Think, 
then,  reader,  can  you  still  delay  ? 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    CARELESS. 


This  term  includes  all  those  who  have  not  given 
and  will  not  give  any  serious  or  fixed  attention  to 
their  conversion.  They  are  so  engaged  by  their 
affairs,  so  enslaved  by  their  pleasures,  so  entangled 
by  the  snare  of  some  sin,  that  they  will,  perhaps, 
scarcely  have  patience  to  read  these  lines  specially 
addressed  to  themselves.  Yet  it  is  with  the  most 
anxious  concern  to  do  them  service,  with  the  most 
tender  pity  for  their  immortal  souls,  with  the  most 
respectful  and  earnest  entreaty,  that  they  are  now 
admonished.  If  you  will  take  this  seasonable  and 
well-meant  warning,  you  may  yet  escape  the  wrath 
of  God  and  taste  the  joys  of  true  religion.  It  is 
not,  in  your  case,  yet  too  late.  You  may  be  saved 
— saved  from  eternal  death,  which  is  undoubtedly 
at  the  end  of  your  present  course — and  be  admitted 
to  everlasting  felicity. 

You  are  careless.      You  know  that  you  are. 


THE    CARELESS.  169 

You  feel  that  your  heart  is  quite  indifferent  to 
your  conversion.  You  will,  perhaps,  frankly  con- 
fess it.     And  what  a  confession  that  is  ! 

Well,  then,  you  have  been  careless — not  about 
your  property,  your  health,  your  interests  in  thi> 
life,  your  mental  improvement,  your  pleasures — 
but  about  your  soul.  The  principal  reason  is,  be- 
cause you  have  been  enamoured  and  enslaved  by 
some  sin.  Yet  it  is  as  certain  as  that  you  are  rational, 
and  can  feel  and  judge,  hope  and  fear,  suffer  and 
enjoy,  that  you  cannot  continue  in  sin,  and  pos- 
sess the  hope  which  makes  life  happy  and  deprives 
death  of  its  sting-.  You  are  not  in  the  possession 
of  true  happiness,  and  a  hope  beyond  death,  just 
because  you  are  not  converted ;  and  you  are  not 
and  will  not  be  converted,  beca'use  you  love  sin. 
You  may,  perhaps,  deny  this,  or  attempt,  by  some 
sophistry,  to  evade  it.  I  know  that  human  minds 
in  your  state  often  do  deny  this,  and  try  to  hide  it 
from  their  consciences.  I  know  that  they  will 
pretend  any  reason  and  every  reason  for  not  be- 
coming true  Christians,  rather  than  admit  that  it 
arises  from  their  love  of  sin.  But  it  is  so,  and 
they  will  find  it  so  at  last.  It  is  one  of  the  master- 
pieces of  Satanic  deception,  to  induce  men  to  be- 
lieve that,  if  they  are  finally  lost,  it  will  not  be 
their  own  fault.  Yet  this  is  mere  empty  sophistry. 
Many  thousands  have  experimentally  proved  that 
it  is  utterly  delusive,  and  vanishes  when  once  con- 
science is  roused  to  deal  faithfully  with  them. 
They  really  love  darkness  rather  than  light,  be- 
cause their  deeds  are  evil :  and  whatever  they  may 
say  when  surrounded  by  gay  and  jocular  com- 
panions, yet,  when  serious,  alone,  terrified  by  the 
fear  of  death,  or  anticipating  the  presence  of  God, 
they  feel  it  to  be  no  comfort  that  they  have  lived 
15 


170  THE    CARELESS. 

in  sin,  despised  religion  and  laughed  at  conver- 
sion. They  are  then  conscious  that  they  have 
really  preferred  sinful  pleasures  to  the  salvation  of 
their  soul,  or  else  they  would  not  have  turned  from 
the  one  and  pursued  the  other.  They  are  con- 
scious— and  all  such,  when  they  think  at  all  upon 
the  matter,  are  conscious — that  their  own  free  will, 
without  any  constraint  or  necessity,  has  led  them 
to  seek  their  gratification  in  the  ways  of  sin,  rather 
than  in  the  ways  of  God.  But  is  not  this  a  fact 
solemn  enough — perilous  enough  to  startle  you 
from  your  dream  of  pleasure — sufficient  la  appal 
any  mind  with  the  tremendous  thought  of  being 
soon  consigned  to  endless  torments?  A  little  fur- 
ther progress  in  the  same  course,  and  you  will  find 
no  possibility  of'  retracing  your  steps !  The  die 
will  be  cast ;  the  sentence,  already  gone  forth,  will 
he  executed.  Yet,  the  only  true  and  adequate 
reason  that  can  be  stated,  why  you  are  not  a  true 
and  happy  Christian,  is,  confessedly,  that  you  have 
been  careless ;  careless  to  such  a  degree,  as  you 
would  not  have  been  in  any  other  matter,  important 
to  your  health,  your  worldly  interest,  or  your  hap- 
piness. The  only  cause  why  you  have  not  been 
converted  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  evil  disposition 
of  your  own  heart.  You  have  shown  by  your 
own  conduct,  that  you  would  rather  continue  under 
the  leprosy  of  sin,  the  moral  plague  of  your  heart, 
than  be  made  whole  by  the  hands  of  the  divine 
Physician.  Do  not,  I  entreat  you,  by  all  that  is 
solemn  in  eternity,  by  all  that  is  precious  in  the 
immortal  soul,  do  not  shrink  from  bringing  home 
to  your  own  conscience  the  charge  of  being  wil- 
fully in  a  sinful  state.  It  is  a  true  charge,  and 
you  will  find  it  so  v/hen  it  is  enforced  by  your 
Judge.     You  are  now  resigning  yourself  to  the 


THE    CARELESS.  171 

fatal  influence  of  the  most  deadly  malady  under 
which  the  soul  can  labour.  You  are  folding-  your 
arms  to  rest,  just  as  the  storm  is  about  to  break 
on  your  frail  vessel.  You  are  sliding  smoothly 
down  to  the  brink  of  a  precipice,  from  which  your 
eyes  are  averted,  while  you  are  amused  and 
pleased  with  the  scenery  around,  from  which  you 
will  soon  disappear.  A  little  more  of  this  kind  of 
self-delusion,  and  you  will  be  irrecoverably  gone  ; 
you  will  drop  into  destruction.  Awake,  thou  that 
sleepest!  Be  willing  to  think  of  Christ,  of  your 
soul,  of  eternity,  of  that  conversion  without  which 
you  cannot  be  saved.  Admit  the  plain  truth, 
though  it  may  be  disagreeable.  Learn  the  worst 
of  your  case,  though  it  may  fill  you  with  alarm  ; 
for'vou  may  learn  it  when  alarm  cannot  lead  to 
escape.  There  is  more  hope  in  candour  and  sin- 
cerity than  in  self-flattery,  false  peace  and  indif- 
ference. Sin  will,  sin  must,  destroy  the  soul,  or  sin 
must  be  destroyed  by  the  grace  of  God  now.  You 
may  not  like  to  make  the  sacrifice  required  in 
order  to  be  saved,  but  you  make  a  much  greater 
sacrifice  to  retain  your  sins. 

Careless,  enslaved  sinner !  have  you  yet  a  desire 
to  live  a  new  life  and  taste  real  happiness  ?  It  is 
not  too  late,  neither  are  the  blessings  placed  be- 
yond your  reach.  If  you  are  in  earnest  for  your 
everlasting  salvation,  there  is  One  mighty  to  save, 
waiting  to  receive  the  confession  of  your  sinfulness, 
willing  to  give  eternal  life  to  all  that  come  unto 
him.  Haste  to  his  throne  of  mercy,  believe  his 
promise,  and  receive,  without  money  and  without 
price,  the  precious  gift  of  his  ineffable  and  ever- 
lastinsf  love. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    HOPELESS. 

There  are  many  persons  whose  minds  have  been 
brought  into  the  lamentable  state  indicated  by  the 
fearful  word  which  stands  at  the  head  of  this  chap- 
ter, from  very  different  causes.  Some  have  trifled 
with  convictions  till  they  have  become  insensible 
and  reckless.  Others  are,  perhaps,  in  an  equally 
hopeless,  but  a  less  hardened  and  careless  state. 
They  are  conscious  that  they  have  repeatedly 
broken  through  all  the  dictates  of  their  consciences 
and  the  warnings  of  the  divine  word  ;  and,  sensible 
that  they  have  no  strength  to  carry  out  their  good 
purposes,  they  have  ceased  to  form  any  ;  thinking 
that,  at  least,  they  will  contract  no  more  guilt  by 
breaking  their  solemn  vows.  Others  there  are, 
who  have  become  hopeless  through  an  overpower- 
ing sight  of  their  own  guiltiness.  Such  a  view 
has  been  set  before  them  of  the  law  of  God,  and 
of  their  own  long-continued  and  aggravated  trans- 
gressions of  it,  that  they  have  yielded  to  the  sug- 
gestions of  the  adversary,  who  tells  them  there  is 
no  possibility  of  their  salvation.  They  may  feel, 
and  deeply  feel,  that  they  need  conversion,  but 
they  look  upon  it  as  an  impossibility.  Some  such 
have  even  gone  so  far  as  to  say  God  could  not 
save  them,  even  if  he  would.  They  feel  quite 
sure  that  he  has  given  them  up  to  hardness  of 
heart  and  eternal  wrath.  Hence,  they  reject  every 
word  of  consolation,  and  refuse  the  plainest  pro- 
mises of  mercy,  though  addressed  specially  to  the 
chief  of  sinners. 
172 


THE    HOPELESS.  173 

There  is  another  class  of  the  hopeless,  who  have 
fallen  into  this  forlorn  and  wretclicd  state  through 
mistaken  views  of  the  divine  method  of  recon- 
ciliation. It  is  no  uncommon  case  for  those  to 
lapse  into  this  condition,  who  have  been  trying  to 
work  out  a  righteousness  for  themselves,  but  have 
failed.  The  inference  by  which  they  are  entan- 
gled and  fast  bound  is  this  :  because  they  have 
made  an  earnest  and  a  long  effort  to  work  them- 
selves up  to  the  hope  of  salvation,  and  this  has 
proved  utterly  abortive,  therefore  there  is  no  hope 
for  them  ;  there  is  some  divine  decree  of  reproba- 
tion against  them,  and  they  must  forever  despair  of 
escaping  from  that  wrath  they  deserve.  This  is  the 
issue  to  which  the  enemy  of  souls  would  urge  all 
who  have  been  awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  sin 
and  guilt,  by  the  application  of  the  law  to  their 
consciences.  One  of  this  description  on  a  sick- 
bed was  addressed  thus  :  "  The  gospel  affords  a 
balm  for  every  wound  which  sin  has  made  in  the 
soul."  "True,"  said  he  ;  "but  that  gospel,  de- 
spised through  life,  affords  me  no  balm  in  my  death. 
There  is  no  mercy  for  me  now." 

Some  persons  have  had  such  a  state  of  mind 
fixed  upon  them  by  the  casual  reading  or  hearing 
of  some  awful  text  of  Scripture,  which  has  come 
to  them  with  such  force,  been  so  appropriate  to 
their  case,  that,  instead  of  taking  it  only  as  a  salu- 
tary and  merciful  warning,  they  have  construed 
it  into  a  direct  revelation  of  their  inevitable 
doom.  Yei  all  the  hopelessness,  even  of  such  ex- 
treme cases,  consists  not  in  the  greatness  of  the 
sins  committed,  but  in  rejecting  the  promise  of 
foro-iveness.  The  decision  of  such  minds  is  made 
in  direct  contradiction  to  the  fulness  of  divine 
mercy;  and  could  they  be  convinced  that  they 
lt5* 


174  THE    HOPELESS. 

neither  have  nor  can  have  any  such  ground  for 
believing  their  case  hopeless  as  they  have  for 
believing  the  divine  mercy  sufficient  for  their 
pardon,  they  might  then  see  that  there  is  yet  hope 
even  for  them  in  God's  free  mercy,  though  none 
in  themselves.  Nothing,  therefore,  must  hinder  us 
from  asserting  and  proving  the  all-sufficiency  of 
that  atonement  through  which  it  is  proclaimed, 
that  "  all  manner  of  sin  and  blasphemy  shall  be 
forgiven  unto  men."* 

Every  soul  that  feels  its  condition  to  be  hope- 
less, and  rests  that  conviction  upon  the  measure 
or  the  guilt  of  sin,  does,  in  fact,  affirm  the  insuf- 
ficiency of  divine  grace,  the  insufficiency  of  the 
blood  of  Christ,  and  the  insufficiency  of  his  me- 
diation in  his  case.  If  every  reason  alleged  by 
such  be  carefully  examined,  it  will  be  found  to 
deny  the  truth  of  innumerable  plain  texts  and 
promises  of  God,  and  must,  therefore,  be  funda- 
mentally and  totally  false  ;  for,  "Let  God  be  true, 
but  every  man  a  liar,"t  is  a  saying  which  even 
the  most  hopeless  cannot  resist.  Even  their  own 
fears  and  terrors  all  depend  upon  the  truth  of  God, 
and  they  themselves  all  profess  to  admit  the  vera- 
city of  God,  at  least  in  his  threatenings.  These 
are  the  sources  of  their  despair.  They  dread  the 
wrath  to  come,  and,  therefore,  they  believe  one 
part  of  the  divine  word ;  though  they  do  not  per- 
ceive that  the  threatenings  are  designed  to  work 
repentance.  They  do  not  profess  to  deny  or  de- 
spise these  threatenings  ;  they  only  disbelieve  the 
gracious  promises. 

For  instance,  one  says,  "I  have  gone  too  far." 
But  what  is  too  far  ?     Let  him  but  define  what  he 
conceives  is  too  fur,  and  it  will  be  found  that  the 
*Matt  xii.  31.  j-~Rom7 iii.  4. 


THE    HOPELESS.  175 

divine  forgiveness  extends  to  that  and  has  been 
granted  to  it.  Another  says,  "  I  have  sinned  too 
long."  But  let  him  attach  a  clear  idea  to  the  ex- 
pression, and  still  it  will  be  found  that  Christ  can 
save  to  the  uttermost  of  time  as  well  as  of  guilt ; 
that  a  whole  life  of  the  most  aggravated  trans- 
gressions, though  it  had  been  the  life  of  an  ante- 
diluvian, docs  not  carry  the  sinner  beyond  the 
reach  of  divine  mercy.  The  hopeless  of  another 
class  say,  "  But  we  have  turned  aside  from  our 
profession ;  we  have  been  apostates,  and  have 
opened  our  mouth  in  blasphemy,  in  curses,  in  a 
denial  of  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Still, 
all  this  does  not  exceed  the  power  of  divine  for- 
giveness. Many  such  have  been  converted ;  and 
the  tender  pity  that  forgavea  weeping  Peter,  after 
his  repeated  denial  and  his  profane  oaths,  waits 
only  for  your  repentance. 

Still,  another  affirms  the  hopelessness  of  his 
case  to  arise  out  of  the  supposed  fact,  that  he  has 
committed  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  of 
which  it  is  said  that  "  it  hath  never  forgiveness."* 
But  if  such  a  person  is  asked  what  is  the  awful 
sin  thus  exempted  from  forgiveness,  he  confesses 
that  he  cannot  tell,  but  he  supposes  it  to  be  speak- 
ing evil  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  it  is  denying 
Jesus  Christ ;  yet  he  has  no  distinct  idea,  and 
certainly  cannot  say  that  he  has  clearly  committed 
it.  Why,  then,  should  he  pervert  the  Scriptures 
to  prove  himself  guilty  of  that  which  Scripture 
itself  has  not  clearly  defined.  The  most  judicious 
expositors  and  most  learned  divines  agree,  that, 
whatever  this  sin  is,  it  cannot  be  committed  by 
any  one  in  an  age  when  the  Holy  Spirit  does  not 
manifest   his   presence  by  miraculous  signs,  for 

*  Mark  iii.  29. 


176  THE    HOPELESS. 

that  the  Scriptures  most  clearly  testify,  that  every 
sin  known  in  these  days  has  the  promise  of  for- 
giveness attached  to  it  upon  repentance.  Every 
species  of  sinners  that  we  can  find  in  the  world  are 
exhorted  and  invited  to  repent ;  and  this  they 
could  not  be,  if,  among  the  vast  multitude  and 
variety  of  sins  and  sinners,  there  were  one  ex- 
empted from  the  mercy  of  God.  Even  those 
Jews  who  witnessed  the  gift  of  tongues  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  and  said  that  it  was  the  effect  of 
intoxication — "These  men  are  fuliof  ne-w  wine"=^' 
— were  not  abandoned  by  the  apostles  as  unpardon- 
able, but  w^ere  exhorted  to  repent,  and  were  as- 
sured, that  if  they  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus, 
even  they  should  receive  the  remission  of  sins. 
This  exhortation  of  Peter  w^as  effectual  with 
many,  for  "they  were  pricked  in  the  heart,  and 
said,  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ?"t 
And  that  day  more  than  three  thousand  believed, 
and  were  Vv-elcomed  by  apostolic  authority  into 
the  Christian  church.  If,  then,  those  who  had  at 
first  attributed  divine  inspiration  to  drunkenness 
were  converted  and  saved,  there  can  be  no  suffi- 
cient reason  derived  from  Scripture  for  the  hope- 
lessness of  any  sinner,  simply  on  the  conviction 
that  he  feels  of  any  particular  sin.  He  may  be 
assured  that  no  temptation  has  happened  to  him 
but  that  which  is  common  to  men.  If  the  guilt 
of  apostasy,  of  murder,  of  adultery,  of  horrid 
blasphemy,  of  atheism  and  infidelity,  of  the  most 
awful  imprecations  and  denials  of  God  and  Christ, 
has  been  forgiven,  it  will  be  impossible  for  any 
one  to  find  a  sin  for  which  divine  mercy  has  not 
provided  a  remedy,  of  the  forgiveness  of  which 
Holy  Scripture  does  not  afford  an  example.  It 
*  Acts  ii.  13.  \  Acts  ii.  37. 


THE    HOrELESS.  177 

must  be  evident,  ilicrefore,  that  all  those  cases  in 
which  sinners  are  apt  to  become  hopeless,  arc 
really  not  more  so  in  the  view  of  the  divine  grace 
than  the  case  of  any  other  sinner.  All  need  re- 
pentance ;  to  all  conversion  is  prescribed  ;  each 
is  invited  to  believe  ;  and  again  and  again  it  is 
repeated,  "Whosoever  believeth  on  him  shall  not 
be  ashamed."* 

It  is  clear,  that  the  only  hopelessness  of  all  these 
cases  depends  upon  the  adherence  of  the  mind  to 
a  false  notion — the  unpardonable  nature  of  the  sin 
committed,  or  supposed  to  be  committed.  While 
that  delusion  remains,  there  can  be  no  hope.  But 
Scripture  directly  disproves  it ;  and  until  the  truth 
and  certainty  of  the  promises  of  God  be  admitted, 
there  is  no  hope.  Yet  the  inconsistency  and  self- 
contradiction  of  the  despairing  party  are  shown  in 
this,  that  he  rejects  these  promises,  while  he  pro- 
fesses to  feel  the  truth  and  certainty  of  the  threat- 
enings.  If  he  has  occasion  to  fear  and  tremble  at 
the  threatening,  he  has  the  very  same  authority  to 
excite  hope ;  for  He  who  condemns  all  sin,  says 
he  will  forgive  all  sin,  on  the  faith  and  repentance 
of  the  sinner.  It  is  absurd  to  believe  the  one  and 
not  the  other. 

There  seems  to  be  only  one  other  view  of  all 
such  cases,  which  it  is  important  here  to  notice. 
Some  readers  of  this  section  may  say,  that  they  do 
not  place  their  despair  upon  the  ground  of  the 
unpardonable  nature  of  their  sin,  but  upon  the 
hardness  of  their  heart.  They  are  hopeless,  be- 
cause, after  various  and  anxious  efforts,  they 
cannot  bring  their  minds  to  the  belief  of  the  divine 
promise.  In  so  far  as  this  is  hopelessness  of  their 
own  ability,  it  is  matter  for  congratulation,  rather 

*  Rom.  X.  11. 


178  THE    HOPELESS. 

than  of  despair.  The  feeling  of  their  own  inability- 
ought  to  urge  them  to  ask  that  of  God  which  they 
cannot  impart  to  themselves.  "  Faith  cometh  by- 
hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God  ;"*  not 
by  dwelling  upon  our  own  inability.  Instead  of  re- 
stricting our  thoughts  and  our  fears  to  that,  we 
should  be  looking  to  Him  that  can  excite  faith ; 
we  should  be  gathering  up  the  promises  that  inspire 
it  into  despairing  hearts.  You  look  to  the  deep 
gloom  of  your  own  helplessness,  and  say,  We  are 
hopeless,  because  we  cannot  believe.  True  :  and 
how  should  you  be  otherwise  while  you  do  not 
look  to  that  quarter  from  whence  the  day-spring 
visits  us  ?  Christ  says,  "Look  unto  me,  and  be 
ye  saved;"!  but  you  look  to  yourselves,  and  say. 
We  are  lost !  Faith  cannot  spring  up  in  that  heart 
which  is  engaged  exclusively  with  its  own  miseries. 
When  once  these  miseries  are  felt,  they  should 
urge  you  immediately  to  look  out  of  and  beyond 
yourselves  for  help.  So  you  would  do  if  you  were 
reduced  to  the  extreme  of  poverty ;  so  you  would 
do  if  violent  disease  had  seized  your  frame  ;  so 
you  would  escape  hastily  from  the  flames,  if  you 
awoke  suddenly,  and  found  yourself  enveloped  by 
the  devouring  element ;  so  you  would  cry  for  help, 
if  you  felt  yourself  sinking  in  deep  waters.  Then 
why  not  direct  your  cry  to  Him  who  says,  "  Look 
unto  me  and  be  ye  saved  ?":}:  A  look,  a  right  de- 
sire, a  true  glance  of  the  eye  of  faith  directed  to- 
wards him,  and  you  would  immediately  feel  that 
you  were  strengthened  with  strength  in  your  soul ; 
and  you  would  look  again  and  again  with  growing 
desire,  with  declining  fear  and  rising  hope,  till 
you  felt  Christ  formed  in  your  heart,  the  hope  of 

glory- 

*  Rom.  X.  17.         t  Isa.  x\v.  22.         t  Isa.  xlv.  22. 


THE    HOPELESS.  179 

Mr.  Whitefield,  a  brother  of  the  Rev.  George 
Whitefield,  after  living  some  time  in  a  backsliding 
and  careless  state,  was  roused  to  a  perception  of 
his  danger,  but  shortly  after  sunk  into  melancholy 
and  despondency.  He  was  drinking  tea  with  the 
Countess  of  Huntingdon  one  afternoon,  while  her 
ladyship  was  endeavouring  to  raise  his  hopes  by 
conversing  on  the  infinite  mercy  of  God  through 
Jesus  Christ.  For  a  while  it  was  all  in  vain. 
"My  lady,"  he  replied,  "I  know  what  you  say  is 
true.  The  mercy  of  God  is  infinite.  I  see  it 
clearly.  But,  ah !  my  lady,  there  is  no  mercy  for 
me.  I  am  a  wretch,  entirely  lost."  "  I  am  glad 
to  hear  it,  Mr.  W.,"  said  Lady  H.  "  I  am  glad  at 
my  heart  that  you  are  a  lost  man."  He  looked 
with  great  surprise.  "What!  my  lady,  glad  I 
glad  at  your  heart  that  I  am  a  lost  man  ?"  *'  Yes, 
Mr.  Whitefield,  truly  glad  :  for  Jesus  Christ  came 
into  the  world  to  save  the  lost !"  He  laid  down 
his  cup  of  tea  on  the  table — "  Blessed  be  God  for 
that,"  he  said.  "  Glory  to  God  for  that  word,"  he 
exclaimed.  "Oh  what  unusual  power  is  this  which 
I  feel  attending  it !  Jesus  Christ  came  to  save  the 
lost !  then  I  have  a  ray  of  hope  :"  and  so  he  pro- 
ceeded. As  he  finished  his  last  cup  of  tea,  his 
hand  trembled,  and  he  complained  of  illness.  He 
went  out  of  the  house  for  air,  staggered,  was 
brought  in,  and  shortly  after  expired. 


CONCLUSION. 

And  now,  my  reader,  under  whatever  descrip 
tion  you  have  ranged  yourself  as  the  work  was 
proceeding,  here  we  are  about  to  part.  The  writer 
has  nearly  done  with  his  book.  He  is  about  to 
lay  down  his  pen,  and  you,  the  reader,  are  about 
to  lay  down  the  little  volume.  But  we  have  both 
done  with  it  only  for  time.  Its  thoughts  and 
sentiments  must  live  and  recur  again.  They  will, 
doubtless,  in  your  heart.  We  must  both  realize 
its  consequences  in  eternity.  Whatever  are  your 
impressions  of  the  manner  in  which  the  author 
has  treated  the  subject,  you  cannot  doubt,  after 
reading  the  book,  that  the  subject  itself  is  of  trans- 
cendent importance.  If  you  are  disposed  to  dis- 
miss the  book  from  your  thoughts,  yet  be  earnestly 
and  affectionately  entreated  not  to  dismiss  its  sub- 
ject:  for  this  momentous  reason,  that  He  who 
says  ''Except  ye  be  converted,  ye  shall  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God,^'*  is  now  the  gracious 
Saviour  of  the  world,  is  waiting  to  become  yours, 
and  is  appointed  ere  long  to  be  your  Judge.  From 
his  lips  you  will  assuredly  hear  your  final  sentence 
pronounced.  Matters  of  infinite  concernment  to 
yourself  depend  upon  your  decision  of  the  ques- 
tion— Are  you,  or  are  you  not,  converted?  Will 
you,  or  will  you  not,  now  be  converted  ?  Heaven 
or  hell  through  eternal  ages  is  in  the  answer  you 
finally  give  !     Pause — consider — pray. 


*  Matt,  xviii.  3. 


180 


